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THE    BROOK    KERITH 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  -   DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


THE 

BROOK   KERITH 

A    Syrian    Story 

BY 

GEORGE    MOORE 


So  he  went  and  did  according  unto  the  word  of  the  Lord :  for  he 
went  and  dwelt  by  the  brook  Kerith,  that  is  before  Jordan.  And  the 
ravens  brought  him  bread  and  flesh  in  the  morning,  and  bread  and 
flesh  in  the  evening  ;   and  he  drank  of  the  brook.  —  /  Kings  xvii.  j,  6. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1916 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1916, 
Bv  GEORGE  MOORE. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  May,  igi6. 
Reprinted  September,  1916. 


Norisoot)  ^xna 

J,  8.  Cashing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Maa8.,  U.S.A. 


College 
Library; 

n  ■  '  J, 


A   DEDICATION 

My  dear  Mary  Hunter.  It  appears  that  you 
wished  to  give  me  a  boolc  for  Christmas,  but 
were  in  doubt  what  book  to  give  me  as  I 
seemed  to  have  little  taste  for  reading,  so 
in  your  embarrassment  you  gave  me  a  Bible. 
It  lies  on  my  table  now  with  the  date  1898 
on  the  fly-leaf —  my  constant  companion  and 
chief  literary  interest  for  the  last  eighteen 
years.  Itself  a  literature,  it  has  led  me  into 
many  various  literatures  and  into  the  society 
of  scholars.  I  owe  so  much  to  your  Bible 
that  I  cannot  let  pass  the  publication  of  "  The 
Brook  Kerith"  without  thanking  you  for  it 
again. 

Yours  always ; 

George  Moore. 


IfSTOCK'M 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/brookkerithsyriaOOmooriala 


THE    BROOK    KERITH 


CHAPTER   I 

IT  was  at  the  end  of  a  summer  evening,  long  after  his  usual 
bedtime,  that  Joseph,  sitting  on  his  grandmother's  knee, 
heard  her  tell  that  Kish  having  lost  his  asses  sent  Saul, 
his  son,  to  seek  them  in  the  land  of  the  Benjamites  and  the 
land  of  Shalisha,  whither  they  might  have  strayed.  But 
they  were  not  in  these  lands,  Son,  she  continued,  nor  in 
Zulp,  whither  Saul  went  afterwards,  and  being  then  tired 
out  with  looking  for  them  he  said  to  the  servant:  we  shall 
do  well  to  forget  the  asses,  lest  my  father  should  ask  what 
has  become  of  us.  But  the  servant,  being  of  a  mind  that 
Kish  would  not  care  to  see  them  without  the  asses,  said  to 
young  Saul :  let  us  go  up  into  yon  city,  for  a  great  seer  lives 
there  and  he  will  be  able  to  put  us  in  the  right  way  to  come 
upon  the  asses.  But  we  have  little  in  our  wallet  to  recom- 
pense him,  Saul  answered,  only  half  a  loaf  and  a  little  wine 
at  the  end  of  the  bottle.  We  have  more  than  that,  the 
servant  replied,  and  opening  his  hand  he  showed  a  quarter 
of  a  shekel  of  silver  to  Saul,  who  said  :  he  will  take  that 
in  payment.  Whereupon  they  walked  into  Arimathea, 
casting  their  eyes  about  for  somebody  to  direct  them  to 
the  seer's  house.  And  seeing  some  maidens  at  the  well, 
come  to  draw  water,  they  asked  them  if  the  seer  had  been 
in  the  city  that  day,  and  were  answered  that  he  had 
been  seen  and  would  offer  sacrifice  that  morhing,  as  had  been 

B  I 


2  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

announced.  He  must  be  on  his  way  now  to  the  high  rock, 
one  of  the  maidens  cried  after  them,  and  they  pressed  through 
the  people  till  none  was  in  front  of  them  but  an  old  man 
walking  alone,  likewise  in  the  direction  of  the  rock;  and 
overtaking  him  they  asked  if  he  could  point  out  the  seer's 
house  to  them,  to  which  he  answered  sharply :  I  am  the 
seer,  and  fell  at  once  to  gazing  on  Saul  as  if  he  saw  in  him 
the  one  that  had  been  revealed  to  him.  For  hearken,  Son, 
seers  have  foresight,  and  the  seer  had  been  warned  over- 
night that  the  Lord  would  send  a  young  man  to  him,  so  the 
moment  he  saw  Saul  he  knew  him  to  be  the  one  the  Lord 
had  promised,  and  he  said :  thou  art  he  whom  the  Lord  has 
promised  to  send  me  for  anointment,  but  more  than  that 
I  cannot  tell  thee,  being  on  my  way  to  offer  sacrifice,  but 
afterwards  we  will  eat  together,  and  all  that  has  been  re- 
vealed to  me  I  will  tell.  Thou  understandest  me,  Son,  the 
old  woman  crooned,  the  Lord  had  been  with  Samuel  be- 
foretimes  and  had  promised  to  send  the  King  of  Israel 
to  him  for  anointment,  and  the  moment  he  laid  eyes  on 
Saul  he  knew  him  to  be  the  king;  and  that  was  why  he 
asked  him  to  eat  with  him  after  sacrifice.  Yes,  Granny, 
I  understand  :  but  did  the  Lord  set  the  asses  astray  that 
Saul  might  follow  them  and  come  to  Samuel  to  be  made 
a  King  ?  I  daresay  there  was  something  like  that  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  the  old  woman  answered,  and  continued  her 
story  till  her  knees  ached  under  the  boy's  weight. 

The  child's  asleep,  she  said,  and  on  the  instant  he  awoke 
crying :  no.  Granny,  I  wasn't  asleep.  I  heard  all  you 
said  and  would  like  to  be  a  prophet.  A  prophet,  Joseph, 
and  to  anoint  a  king  ?  But  there  are  no  more  prophets 
or  kings  in  Israel.  And  now,  Joseph,  my  little  prophet, 
'tis  bedtime  and  past  it.  Come.  I  didn't  say  I  wanted 
to  anoint  kings,  he  answered,  and  refused  to  go  to  bed, 
though  manifestly  he  could  hardly  keep  awake.  I'll  wait 
up  for  Father, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  3 

Now  what  can  the  child  want  his  father  for  at  this  hour  ? 
she  muttered  as  she  went  about  the  room,  not  guessing 
that  he  was  angry  and  resentful,  that  her  words  had  wounded 
him  deeply  and  that  he  was  asking  himself,  in  his  corner, 
if  she  thought  him  too  stupid  to  be  a  prophet. 

I'll  tell  thee  no  more  stories,  she  said  to  him,  but  he 
answered  that  he  did  not  want  to  hear  her  stories,  and 
betwixt  feelings  of  anger  and  shame  his  head  drooped, 
and  he  slept  in  his  chair  till  the  door  opened  and  his  father's 
footsteps  crossed  the  threshold. 

Now,  he  said  to  himself.  Granny  will  tell  father  that 
I  said  I'd  like  to  be  a  prophet.  And  feigning  sleep  he 
listened,  determined  to  hear  the  worst  that  could  be  said 
of  him.  But  they  did  not  speak  about  him  but  of  the 
barrels  of  salt  fish  that  were  to  go  to  Beth-Shemesh  on  the 
morrow;  which  was  their  usual  talk.  So  he  slipped  from 
his  chair  and  bade  his  father  good-night.  A  resentful 
good-night  it  was;  and  his  good-night  to  his  grandmother 
was  still  more  resentful.  But  she  found  an  excuse  for  his 
rudeness,  saying  that  his  head  was  full  of  sleep  —  a  remark 
that  annoyed  him  considerably  and  sent  him  upstairs 
wishing  that  women  would  not  talk  about  things  they 
do  not  understand.  I'll  ask  father  in  the  morning  why 
Granny  laughed  at  me  for  saying  I'd  like  to  be  a  prophet. 
But  as  morning  seemed  still  a  long  way  ahead  he  tried 
to  find  a  reason,  but  could  find  no  better  one  than  that 
prophets  were  usually  old  men.  But  I  shall  be  old  in 
time  to  come  and  have  a  beard.  Father  has  a  beard  and 
they  can't  tell  that  I  won't  have  a  beard,  and  a  white  one 
too,  so  why  should  they 

His  senses  were  numbing,  and  he  must  have  fallen  asleep 
soon  after,  for  when  he  awoke  it  seemed  to  him  that  he 
had  been  asleep  a  long  time,  several  hours  at  least,  so  many 
things  had  happened  or  seemed  to  have  happened ;  but 
as  he  recovered  his  mind  all  the  dream  happenings  melted 


4  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

away,  and  he  could  remember  only  his  mother.  She  had 
been  dead  four  years,  but  in  his  dream  she  looked  as  she 
had  always  looked,  and  had  scolded  Granny  for  laughing 
at  him.  He  tried  to  remember  what  else  she  had  said 
but  her  words  faded  out  of  his  mind  and  he  fell  asleep  again. 
In  this  second  sleep  an  old  man  rose  up  by  his  bedside 
and  told  him  that  he  was  the  prophet  Samuel,  who  though 
he  had  been  dead  a  thousand  years  had  heard  him  say  he 
would  like  to  be  a  prophet.  But  shall  I  be  a  prophet  f 
Joseph  asked,  and  as  Samuel  did  not  answer  he  cried  out 
as  loudly  as  he  could  :  shall  I  ?  shall  I .? 

What  ails  thee,  Son  ?  he  heard  his  grandmother  calling 
to  him,  and  he  answered  :  an  old  man,  an  old  man.  Ye 
be  dreaming,  she  mumbled  between  sleeping  and  waking, 
go  to  sleep  like  a  good  boy,  and  don't  dream  any  more. 
I  will,  Granny,  but  don't  be  getting  up;  the  bed-clothes 
don't  want  settling ;  now  I  am  well  tucked  in,  he  pleaded ; 
and  fell  asleep  praying  that  Granny  had  not  heard  him 
ask  Samuel  if  he  would  be  a  prophet. 

A  memory  of  his  dream  of  Samuel  came  upon  him  while 
she  dressed  him,  and  he  hoped  she  had  forgotten  all  about 
it;  but  his  father  mentioned  at  breakfast  that  he  had  been 
awakened  by  cries.  It  was  Joseph  crying  out  in  his  dream, 
Dan,  disturbed  thee  last  night:  such  cries,  "Shall  I  ?  Shall 
I  ?"  And  when  I  asked  "What  ails  thee  ?"  the  only  answer 
I  got  was  "An  old  man." 

Dan,  Joseph's  father,  wondered  why  Joseph  should 
seem  so  disheartened  and  why  he  should  murmur  so  per- 
functorily that  he  could  not  remember  his  dream.  But 
if  he  had  forgotten  it,  why  trouble  him  further  ?  If  we  are 
to  forget  anything  it  were  well  that  we  should  choose  our 
dreams;  at  which  piece  of  incredulity  his  mother  shook 
her  head,  being  firm  in  the  belief  that  there  was  much  sense 
in  dreams  and  that  they  could  be  interpreted  to  the  advan- 
tage of  everybody. 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  5 

Dan  said  :  if  that  be  so,  let  him  tell  thee  his  dream. 
But  Joseph  hung  his  head  and  pushed  his  plate  away; 
and  seeing  him  so  morose  they  left  him  to  his  sulks  and 
fell  to  talking  of  dreams  that  had  come  true.  Joseph 
had  never  heard  them  speak  of  anything  so  interesting 
before,  and  though  he  suspected  that  they  were  making 
fun  of  him  he  could  not  do  else  than  listen,  till  becoming 
convinced  suddenly  that  they  were  talking  in  good  ear- 
nest without  intention  of  fooling  him  he  began  to  regret 
that  he  had  said  he  had  forgotten  his  dream,  and  rapped 
out :  he  was  the  prophet  Samuel.  What  art  thou  say- 
ing, Joseph  ?  his  father  asked.  Joseph  would  say  no  more, 
but  it  pleased  him  to  observe  that  neither  his  father  nor 
his  granny  laughed  at  his  admission,  and  seeing  how  inter- 
ested they  were  in  his  dream  he  said  :  if  thou  wouldst  know 
all,  Samuel  said  he  had  heard  me  say  that  I'd  like  to  be  a 
prophet,  and  that  was  why  he  came  back  from  the  dead. 
But,  Father,  is  it  true  that  we  are  his  descendants  ?  He 
said  I  was. 

A  most  extraordinary  dream,  his  father  answered,  for  it 
has  always  been  held  in  the  family  that  we  are  descended 
from  him.  Now,  Joseph,  is  this  the  story  that  thou  wouldst 
be  telling  us,  that  the  old  man  in  thy  dream  said  he  was 
Samuel  ?  How  should  I  have  known  if  he  hadn't  told  me .? 
Joseph  looked  from  one  to  the  other  and  wondered  why  they 
had  kept  the  secret  of  his  ancestor  from  him.  Granny 
laughed  at  me  yesterday,  when  I  said  I'd  like  to  be  a  prophet. 
What  do  you  say  now  ?  Answer  me  that.  And  he  con- 
tinued to  look  from  one  to  the  other  for  an  answer.  But 
neither  had  the  wit  to  find  an  answer,  so  amazed  were 
they  at  the  news  that  the  prophet  Samuel  had  visited 
Joseph  in  a  dream ;  and  satisfied  at  the  impression  he  had 
made  and  a  little  frightened  by  their  silence  Joseph  stole 
out  of  the  room,  leaving  his  parents  to  place  whatever 
interpretation    they    pleased    on    his    dream.     Nor    did    he 


6  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

care  whether  they  beheved  he  had  spoken  the  truth.  He 
was  more  concerned  with  himself  than  with  them,  and 
conscious  that  something  of  great  importance  had  hap- 
pened to  him  he  ascended  the  stairs,  pausing  at  every  step 
uncertain  if  he  should  return  to  ask  for  the  whole  of  the 
story  of  Saul's  anointment.  It  seemed  to  him  to  lack 
courtesy  to  return  to  the  room  in  which  he  had  seen  the 
prophet,  till  he  knew  these  things.  But  he  could  not  re- 
turn to  ask  questions :  later  he  would  learn  what  had  hap- 
pened to  Samuel  and  Saul,  and  he  entered  the  room,  hence- 
forth to  him  a  sacred  room,  and  stood  looking  through 
it,  having  all  the  circumstances  of  his  dream  well  in  mind  : 
he  was  lying  on  his  left  side  when  Samuel  had  risen  up 
before  him,  and  it  was  there,  upon  that  spot,  in  that  space 
he  had  seen  Samuel.  His  ancestor  had  seemed  to  fade 
away  from  the  waist  downwards,  but  his  face  was  extraor- 
dinarily clear  in  the  darkness,  and  Joseph  tried  to  re- 
call it.  But  he  could  only  remember  it  as  a  face  that  a 
spirit  might  wear,  for  it  was  not  made  up  of  flesh  but  of  some 
glowing  matter  or  stuff,  such  as  glow-worms  are  made  of; 
nor  could  he  call  it  ugly  or  beautiful,  for  it  was  not  of  this 
world.  He  had  drawn  the  bed-clothes  over  his  head,  but 
—  impelled  he  knew  not  why,  for  he  was  nearly  dead  with 
fright  —  he  had  poked  his  head  out  to  see  if  the  face  was 
still  there.  The  lips  did  not  move,  but  he  had  heard  a 
voice.  The  tones  were  not  like  any  heard  before,  but  he 
had  listened  to  them  all  the  same,  and  if  he  had  not  lost 
his  wits  again  in  an  excess  of  fear  he  would  have  put  ques- 
tions to  Samuel:  he  would  have  put  questions  if  his  tongue 
had  not  been  tied  back  somewhere  in  the  roof  of  his  mouth. 
But  the  next  time  he  would  not  be  frightened  and  pull  the 
bed-clothes  over  his  head. 

And  convinced  of  his  own  courage  he  lay  night  after  night 
thinking  of  all  the  great  things  he  would  ask  the  old  man 
and  of  the  benefit  he  would  derive  from  his  teaching.     But 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  7 

Samuel  did  not  appear  again,  perhaps  because  the  nights 
were  so  dark.  Joseph  was  told  the  moon  would  become  full 
again,  but  sleep  closed  his  eyes  when  he  should  have  been 
waking,  and  in  the  morning  he  was  full  of  fear  that  perhaps 
Samuel  had  come  and  gone  away  disappointed  at  not  find- 
ing him  awake.  But  that  could  not  be,  for  if  the  prophet 
had  come  he  would  have  awakened  him  as  he  had  done  be- 
fore. His  ancestor  had  not  come  again :  a  reasonable 
thing  to  suppose,  for  when  the  dead  return  to  the  earth  they 
do  so  with  much  pain  and  difficulty ;  and  if  the  living,  whom 
they  come  to  instruct,  cannot  keep  their  eyes  open,  the  poor 
dead  wander  back,  and  do  not  try  to  come  between  their 
descendants  and  their  fate  again. 

But  I  will  keep  awake,  he  said,  and  resorted  to  all  sorts 
of  devices,  keeping  up  a  repetition  of  a  little  phrase :  he 
will  come  to-night  when  the  moon  is  full ;  and  lying  with 
one  leg  hanging  out  of  bed ;  and  these  proving  unavailing 
he  strewed>jhis  bed  with  crumbs.  But  no  ancestor  ap- 
peared, and  little  by  little  he  relinquished  hope  of  ever  being 
able  to  summon  Samuel  to  his  bedside,  and  accepted  as 
an  explanation  of  his  persistent  absence  that  Samuel  had 
performed  his  duty  by  coming  once  to  visit  him  and  would 
not  come  again  unless  some  new  necessity  should  arise. 
It  was  then  that  the  conviction  began  to  mount  into  his 
brain  that  he  must  learn  all  that  his  grandmother  could 
tell  him  about  Saul  and  David,  and  learning  from  her 
that  they  had  been  a  great  trouble  to  Samuel  he  resolved 
never  to  allow  a  thought  into  his  mind  that  the  prophet 
would  deem  unworthy.  To  become  worthy  of  his  an- 
cestor was  now  his  aim,  and  when  he  heard  that  Samuel 
was  the  author  of  two  sacred  books  it  seemed  to  him  that 
his  education  had  been  neglected  :  for  he  had  not  yet  been 
taught  to  read.  Another  step  in  his  advancement  was 
the  discovery  that  the  language  his  father,  his  granny  and 
himself  spoke   was   not   the   language   spoken    by   Samuel, 


8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

and  every  day  he  pressed  his  grandmother  to  tell  him  why 
the  Jews  had  lost  their  language  in  Babylon,  till  he  ex- 
hausted the  old  woman's  knowledge  and  she  said :  well 
now,  Son,  if  thou  wouldst  hear  any  more  about  Babylon, 
ask  thy  father,  for  I  have  told  thee  all  I  know. 

And  Joseph  waited  for  his  father  to  come  home,  and 
plagued  him  to  tell  him  a  story,  when  he  returned,  but 
after  a  long  day  spent  in  the  counting-house  his  father 
was  often  too  tired  to  take  him  on  his  knee  and  instruct 
him,  for  Joseph's  curiosity  was  unceasing  and  very  often 
wearisome.  Now,  Joseph,  his  father  said,  thou'lt  learn 
more  about  these  things  when  thou'rt  older.  And  why  not 
now  ?  he  asked,  and  his  grandmother  answered  that  it 
was  change  of  air  he  wanted,  not  books ;  and  they  began 
to  speak  of  the  fierce  summer  that  had  taken  the  health 
out  of  all  of  them,  and  of  how  necessary  it  was  for  a  child 
of  that  age  to  be  sent  up  to  the  hills. 

Dan  looked  into  his  son's  face,  and  Rachel  seemed  to 
be  right.  A  thin,  wan  little  face,  that  the  air  of  the  hills 
will  brighten,  he  said ;  and  he  began  at  once  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  Joseph's  departure  for  a  hill  village,  say- 
ing that  the  pastoral  life  of  the  hills  would  take  his  mind 
off  Samuel,  Hebrew  and  Babylon.  Rachel  was  doubtful 
if  the  shepherds  would  absorb  Joseph's  mind  as  completely 
as  his  father  thought  for.  She  hoped,  however,  that  they 
would.  As  soon  as  he  hears  the  sound  of  the  pipe,  his 
father  answered.  A  prophecy  this  was,  for  while  Joseph 
was  resting  after  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  he  was  awak- 
ened suddenly  by  a  sound  he  had  never  heard  before;  one 
that  interested  him  strangely.  His  nurse  told  him  that 
the  sound  he  was  hearing  was  a  shepherd's  pipe.  The 
shepherd  plays  and  the  flock  follows,  she  said.  And  when 
may  I  see  the  flock  coming  home  with  the  shepherd  ? 
he  asked.     To-morrow  evening,  she  answered,  and  the  time 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  9 

seemed  to  him  to  loiter,  so  eager  was  he  to  see  the  flocks 
returning  and  to  watch  the  she-goat  milked. 

And  in  the  spring  as  his  strength  came  back  he  followed 
the  shepherds  and  heard  from  them  many  stories  of  wolves 
and  dogs,  and  from  a  shepherd  lad,  whom  he  had  chosen 
as  a  companion,  he  acquired  knowledge  of  the  plumage  and 
the  cries  and  the  habits  of  birds,  and  whither  he  was  to 
seek  their  nests :  it  had  become  his  ambition  to  possess 
all  the  wild  birds'  eggs,  one  that  was  easily  satisfied  till 
he  came  to  the  egg  of  the  cuckoo,  which  he  sought  in  vain, 
hearing  of  it  often,  now  here,  now  there,  till  at  last  he  and 
the  shepherd  lad  ventured  into  a  dangerous  country  in 
search  of  it  and  remained  there  till  news  of  their  absence 
reached  Magdala  and  Dan  set  out  in  great  alarm  with  an 
armed  escort  to  recover  his  son.  He  was  very  angry  when 
he  came  upon  him,  but  the  trouble  he  had  been  put  to  and 
the  ransom  he  had  had  to  pay  were  very  soon  forgotten, 
so  great  was  his  pleasure  at  the  strong  healthy  boy  he  brought 
back  with  him,  and  whose  first  question  to  Rachel  was : 
are  there  cuckoos  in  Magdala  ?  —  father  doesn't  know. 
His  grandmother  could  not  tell  him,  but  she  was  willing 
to  make  inquiries,  but  before  any  news  of  the  egg  had  been 
gotten  the  hope  to  possess  it  seemed  to  have  drifted  out  of 
Joseph's  mind  and  to  seem  even  a  little  foolish  when  he 
looked  into  his  box,  for  many  of  his  egg  shells  had  been  broken 
on  the  journey.  See,  Granny,  he  said,  but  on  second 
thoughts  he  refused  to  show  his  chipped  possessions.  But 
thou  wast  once  as  eager  to  learn  Hebrew,  his  grandmother 
said,  and  the  chance  words,  spoken  as  she  left  the  room, 
awakened  his  suspended  Interests.  As  soon  as  she  returned, 
she  was  beset  by  questions,  and  the  same  evening  his  father 
had  to  promise  that  the  best  scribe  in  Galilee  should  be 
engaged  to  teach  him :  a  discussion  began  between  Dan 
and  Rachel  as  to  the  most  notable  and  trustworthy,  and  it 
was  followed  by  Joseph  so  eagerly  that  they  could  not  help 


lo  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

laughing;  the  questions  he  put  to  them  regarding  the 
different  accomplishments  of  the  scribes  were  very  minute, 
and  the  phrase  —  But  this  one  is  a  Greek  scholar,  stirred 
his  curiosity.  Why  should  he  be  denied  me  because  he 
knows  Greek  ?  he  asked,  and  his  father  could  only  answer 
that  no  one  can  learn  two  languages  at  the  same  time. 
But  if  he  knows  two  languages,  Joseph  insisted.  I  cannot 
tell  thee  more,  his  father  answered,  than  that  the  scribe 
I've  chosen  is  a  great  Hebrew  scholar. 

He  was  no  doubt  a  great  scholar,  but  he  was  not  the 
man  that  Joseph  wished  for :  thin  and  tall  and  of  gentle 
appearance  and  demeanour,  he  did  not  stir  up  a  flame  for 
work  in  Joseph,  who,  as  soon  as  the  novelty  of  learning 
Hebrew  had  worn  off,  began  to  hide  himself  in  the  garden. 
His  father  caught  him  one  day  sitting  in  a  convenient 
bough,  looking  down  upon  his  preceptor  fairly  asleep  on 
a  bench ;  and  after  this  adventure  he  began  to  make  a 
mocking  stock  of  his  preceptor,  inventing  all  kinds  of  cruel- 
ties, and  his  truancy  became  so  constant  that  his  father  was 
forced  to  choose  another.  This  time  a  younger  man  was 
chosen,  but  he  succeeded  with  Joseph  not  very  much  better 
than  the  first.  After  the  second  there  came  a  third,  and 
when  Joseph  began  to  complain  of  his  ignorance  his  father 
said : 

Well,  Joseph,  thy  cry  was  always  to  learn  Hebrew,  and 
you  have  shown  no  application,  and  three  of  the  most 
learned  scribes  in  Galilee  were  called  in  to  teach  thee,  but 
thy  mind  was  always  away. 

Joseph  felt  the  reproof,  but  did  not  know  how  to  answer 
it.  He  remained  silent,  and  was  grateful  to  his  grand- 
mother for  her  answer.  Joseph  isn't  an  idle  boy,  Dan, 
but  his  nature  is  such  that  he  cannot  learn  from  a  man 
he  doesn't  like.  Why  don't  ye  give  him  Azariah  as  an 
instructor  ?  Has  he  been  speaking  to  thee  about  Azariah  ? 
Dan  asked.     Maybe,  she  said,  and  Dan's  face  clouded. 


CHAPTER  II 

WE  are  to  understand.  Son,  Dan  said,  on  hearing  that  the 
fourth  preceptor  whom  he  had  engaged  to  teach  his  son 
Hebrew  had  failed  to  give  satisfaction,  that  thou  canst 
learn  from  nobody  but  Azariah.  Now,  wilt  tell  us  what 
there  be  in  Azariah  more  than  in  Shimshai,  Benaiah  or 
Zebad  ?  He  waited  for  his  son  to  speak,  but  as  Joseph  did 
not  answer  he  asked :  is  it  because  he  looks  more  like  a 
prophet  than  any  of  the  others  ?  At  this,  Joseph,  who 
still  dreaded  any  allusion  to  prophets,  turned  into  his 
corner  mortified.  But  Rachel  came  forward  directly  and 
taking  the  child  by  the  shoulders  led  him  back  to  his  father, 
asking  Dan  with  a  trace  of  anger  in  her  voice  why  he  should 
think  it  strange  that  the  child  should  prefer  to  learn  from 
Azariah  rather  than  from  a  withered  patriarch  who  never 
could  keep  his  eyes  open  but  always  sat  dozing  in  his  chair 
like  one  in  a  dream. 

It  wasn't.  Granny,  because  he  went  to  sleep  often ;  I 
could  have  kept  him  awake  by  kicking  him  under  the 
table.  Joseph  stopped  suddenly  and  looked  from  one  to 
the  other.  Why  then  ?  his  father  asked,  and  on  being 
pressed  to  say  why  he  didn't  want  to  learn  Hebrew  he  said 
he  had  come  to  hate  Hebrew,  an  admission  which  rendered 
his  parents  speechless  for  a  moment.  Come  to  hate  He- 
brew, they  repeated  one  after  the  other,  till  frightened  by 
their  solemnity  Joseph  blurted  out :  who  would  like  He- 
brew and  the  scholar's  fleas  jumping  on  him  every  moment. 
And  pulling  up  his  sleeves  Joseph  exhibited  his  arms.  How 
could  I  learn  Hebrew  with  three  fleas  biting  me  and  all  at 


12  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

one  time,  one  here,  another  there  and  a  third  down  yonder. 
He  always  has  three  or  four  about  him.  No,  Father,  don't, 
don't  ask  me  to  learn  Hebrew  any  more.  But,  Joseph, 
all  Hebrew  scholars  haven't  fleas  about  them.  An  un- 
believing face  confronted  them,  and  Joseph  looked  as  if 
he  were  uncertain  whether  he  should  laugh  or  cry :  but 
seeing  that  his  parents  liked  his  story  he  began  to  laugh. 
We've  tried  several  preceptors,  but  thou'rt  hard  to  please, 
Joseph.  Now  what  fault  didst  find  with  —  and  while 
Dan  searched  his  memory  for  the  name  Joseph  interjected 
that  the  little  fellow  whose  back  bulged  like  Granny's 
chest  wouldn't  let  him  read  the  interesting  parts  of  the 
Scriptures  but  kept  him  always  at  the  Psalms  and  the 
Proverbs.  And  he  was  always  telling  me  about  Hillel, 
who  was  a  good  man,  but  good  men  aren't  as  interesting 
as  prophets,  Joseph  rapped  out.  And  wilt  thou  tell  us 
what  he  told  thee  about  these  pious  men  ?  Dan  asked, 
a  smile  playing  about  his  long  thin  mouth.  That  the 
law  didn't  matter  as  long  as  we  were  virtuous,  Joseph 
muttered,  and  he  was  always  explaining  the  stories  that 
I  understood  quite  well  when  Granny  told  them.  So  it 
was  Hiram  that  confirmed  you  in  your  distaste  for  He- 
brew, Dan  said,  and  the  child  stood  looking  at  his  father, 
not  quite  sure  if  it  would  be  in  his  interest  to  accept  or 
repudiate  the  suggestion.  He  would  have  refused  to  give 
a  direct  answer  (such  is  the  way  of  children)  but  the  servant 
relieved  him  of  his  embarrassment :  Azariah  was  at  the 
gate  asking  for  shelter  from  the  rain. 

From  the  rain !  Dan  said,  rising  suddenly.  It  is  coming 
down  very  fast.  Mother,  but  we  were  so  engaged  in  listen- 
ing to  Joseph  that  we  didn't  hear  it.  Shall  we  ask  him 
in,  Joseph  ?  The  child's  face  lighted  up.  Now  isn't  it 
strange,  Rachel  said  he  should  be  here  to-day  ?  We  haven't 
seen  him  for  months,  and  now  in  the  middle  of  a  talk  about 
tutors  —  aren't    you    going    to    ask    him    in  f    Of   course, 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  13 

Dan  said,  and  he  instructed  the  servant  to  ask  the  scribe 
to  come  upstairs.  And  now,  Joseph,  I  hope  you'll  listen 
to  all  that  Azariah  says,  giving  quiet  and  reasonable  answers. 
And  not  too  many  questions,  mind  ! 

Joseph  promised  to  be  good  and  quiet  and  to  keep  him- 
self from  putting  questions.  I  will  listen  attentively,  he 
said,  and  he  seized  on  the  last  chance  available  to  his  tongue 
to  tell  that  he  had  often  seen  Azariah  in  the  lanes.  He 
doesn't  see  us,  he  walks  like  one  in  a  dream,  his  hair  blow- 
ing in  the  wind.  But  when  he  does  see  us  he  speaks  very 
kindly  ...  I  think  I'd  like  to  learn  Hebrew  from  him. 
Rachel  laid  her  finger  on  her  lips;  the  door  opened  and 
Azariah  advanced  into  the  room  with  a  long  grave  Jewish 
stride,  apologising  to  Dan  as  he  came  for  his  sudden  intru- 
sion into  their  midst,  mentioning  the  heavy  rain  in  a 
graceful  phrase.  Joseph,  who  was  on  the  watch  for  every- 
thing, could  see  that  his  father  was  full  of  respect  for  Aza- 
riah, and  hearing  him  say  that  it  was  some  years  since 
Azariah  had  been  in  his  house  he  began  to  wonder  if  there 
had  been  a  quarrel  between  them ;  it  seemed  to  him  that 
his  father  was  a  little  afraid  of  Azariah,  which  was  strange, 
for  he  himself  did  not  feel  in  the  least  afraid  of  Azariah 
but  an  almost  uncontrollable  desire  to  go  and  sit  on  his  knee. 

Here  is  my  boy  Joseph  :  and,  Azariah,  you  will  be  inter- 
ested to  hear  that  we  were  talking  about  you  for  the  last 
quarter  of  an  hour. 

Azariah  raised  his  thick  eyebrows  and  waited  to  be  told 
how  he  had  come  to  be  the  subject  of  their  talk,  though 
he  half  knew  the  reason,  for  in  a  village  like  Magdala  it 
soon  gets  about  that  four  preceptors  have  been  sent  away 
unable  to  teach  the  rich  man's  son.  He  has  made  up  his 
mind,  Dan  said,  to  learn  Hebrew  and  Greek  from  none 
but  thee.  No,  Father,  I  didn't  make  up  my  mind.  But  I 
couldn't  learn  from  the  others  as  I  told  thee  truthfully.  Art 
sure  that  thou  canst  learn  from  me  ?  Azariah  asked.   Joseph 


14  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

became  shy  at  once,  but  he  liked  to  feel  Azariah's  friendly 
hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  when  Dan  asked  the  scribe  to 
be  seated  Joseph  followed  him,  and  standing  beside  his 
chair  asked  him  if  he  would  teach  him  Hebrew,  a  question 
Azariah  did  not  answer.  You  will  teach  me,  he  insisted, 
and  Dan  and  Rachel  kept  silence,  so  that  they  might  better 
observe  Joseph  working  round  Azariah  with  questions;  and 
they  were  amused,  for  Joseph's  curiosity  had  overcome  his 
shyness;  and,  quite  forgetful  of  his  promise  to  listen  and 
not  to  talk,  he  had  begun  to  beg  the  scribe  to  tell  him  if  the 
language  they  spoke  had  been  brought  back  from  Babylon, 
and  how  long  it  was  since  people  had  ceased  to  speak  Hebrew. 
Azariah  set  himself  to  answer  these  questions ;  Joseph  gave 
him  close  attention,  and  when  Azariah  ceased  speaking  he 
said :  when  may  I  begin  my  lessons  ?  And  he  put  the 
question  so  innocently  that  his  father  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing. But,  Joseph,  he  said,  Azariah  has  not  yet  promised 
to  teach  thee,  and  I  wouldn't  advise  him  to  try  to  teach  a 
boy  that  has  refused  to  learn  from  four  preceptors.  But  it 
will  be  different  with  you,  Sir,  Joseph  murmured,  taking 
Azariah's  hand.  You  will  teach  me,  won't  you  ?  When 
will  you  begin  ? 

Azariah  answered  that  it  could  not  be  this  week,  for  he 
was  going  to  Arimathea.  The  town  we  came  from,  Dan 
said.  I  am  still  known  as  Dan  of  Arimathea,  though  I 
have  lived  here  twenty  years.  I  too  shall  be  known  as 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  Joseph  interjected.  I'd  like  to  be 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  much  better  than  Joseph  of  Magdala. 

No  need  to  shake  thy  head  at  Magdala,  Dan  said.  Mag- 
dala has  done  well  for  us.  To  which  Joseph  answered 
nothing,  but  it  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  went  to 
his  father  saying  that  he  would  like  to  go  to  Arimathea, 
and  in  charge  of  Azariah. 

Thou'rt  asking  too  much,  Joseph,  his  father  answered 
him.     No,   I   don't  think   I   am,   and   his  honour  Azariah 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  15 

doesn't  think  so,  Joseph  cried,  for  his  heart  was  already 
set  upon  this  holiday.  Azariah  has  perhaps  promised  to 
teach  you  Hebrew.  Isn't  that  enough  ?  his  father  remarked. 
Now  thou  wouldst  have  him  to  take  thee  to  Arimathea. 
But  if  he  likes  to  take  me,  Joseph  replied,  and  he  cast  such 
a  winning  glance  at  Azariah,  that  the  scribe  was  moved 
to  say  that  he  would  be  glad  to  take  charge  of  the  boy 
if  his  parents  would  confide  him  to  his  care.  Whereupon 
Joseph  threw  his  arms  about  his  father,  but  finding  him 
somewhat  indifferent  he  went  to  his  grandmother,  who 
welcomed  his  embrace,  and  in  return  for  it  pleaded  that 
the  boy  should  not  be  denied  this  small  pleasure.  But 
Dan,  who  only  half  liked  to  part  with  his  son,  tried  to 
hide  his  feelings  from  his  mother,  who  had  guessed  them 
already,  with  a  joke,  saying  to  Azariah  that  he  was  a  brave 
man  to  undertake  the  charge  of  so  wayward  a  boy.  I 
shall  not  spoil  him,  and  if  he  fails  to  obey  he'll  have  to  find 
someone  else  to  teach  him  Hebrew,  Azariah  answered.  I 
think  the  rain  is  now  over,  he  said.  Some  drops  were  still 
falling  but  the  sky  was  brightening,  and  he  returned  from 
the  window  to  where  Joseph  was  standing,  and  laying  his 
hand  on  his  head  promised  to  come  for  him  in  the 
morning. 

We  shall  hear  no  more  about  fleas  preventing  thee  from 
study,  Dan  said  to  his  son,  and  very  much  offended  Joseph 
withdrew  to  his  room,  and  stood  looking  at  the  spot  in 
which  he  had  seen  Samuel,  asking  himself  if  the  prophet 
would  appear  to  him  in  Arimathea  and  if  it  would  be  by 
the  fountain  whither  the  maidens  used  to  come  to  draw 
water.  Samuel  and  the  maidens  seemed  to  jar  a  little, 
and  as  he  could  not  think  of  them  together  he  fell  to  think- 
ing of  the  rock  on  which  the  seer  used  to  offer  sacrifices. 
It  was  still  there  and  somebody  would  be  about  to  direct 
them  to  it,  and  it  would  be  under  this  rock  that  Azariah 
would  read  to  him  all  that  Samuel  had  said  to  Saul.     But 


l6  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

we  shall  be  riding  all  day,  he  said  to  himself,  Arimathea 
must  be  a  long  long  way  from  here,  and  he  fled  downstairs 
to  ask  his  father  if  Azariah  would  call  for  him  at  the  head 
of  a  caravan,  whether  he  would  ride  on  a  camel  or  a  mule 
or  a  horse :  he  thought  he  would  like  to  ride  a  camel,  and 
awoke  many  times  in  the  night,  once  rolling  out  of  his  bed, 
for  in  a  dream  the  ungainly  animal  had  jolted  him  from  oflF 
his  hump. 

And  the  old  woman's  patience  was  nigh  exhausted  when 
he  cried :  Granny,  it  is  day,  and  bade  her  leave  her  bed 
and  come  to  the  window  to  tell  him  if  day  were  not  breaking; 
but  she  answered :  get  thee  back  to  thy  bed,  for  'tis  the 
moon  shining  down  the  sky,  simpleton.  The  sun  won't 
give  way  an  hour  to  the  moon  nor  the  moon  an  hour  to  the 
sun  because  thou'rt  going  to  Arimathea.  And  methinks, 
Joseph,  that  to  some  the  morrow  is  always  better  than  to- 
day, and  yesterday  better  than  either,  —  a  remark  that 
puzzled  Joseph  and  kept  him  from  his  rest.  Did'st  ever 
hear,  Joseph,  that  it  is  a  clever  chicken  that  crows  in  the 
egg  ?  the  old  woman  continued,  and  who  knows  but  Azariah 
will  forget  to  come  for  thee !  He  won't  forget.  Granny, 
Joseph  uttered  in  so  doleful  a  tone  that  Rachel  repented 
and  promised  Joseph  she  would  wake  him  in  time;  and  as 
she  had  never  failed  to  keep  her  promise  to  him  he  allowed 
sleep  to  close  his  eyelids.  And  once  asleep  he  was  hard  to 
awaken.  At  six  in  the  morning  sleep  seemed  to  him  better 
than  Arimathea,  but  once  awake  Rachel  could  not  hand 
him  his  clothes  fast  enough ;  he  escaped  from  her  hands, 
dressing  himself  as  he  ran  into  the  lanes,  and  while  tying  his 
sandals  at  the  gate  he  forgot  them  and  stood  at  gaze,  wonder- 
ing whether  Azariah  would  come  to  fetch  him  on  a  horse  or 
an  ass  or  a  mule  or  a  camel. 

At  last  the  sound  of  hooves  came  through  the  dusk, 
and  a  moment  after  some  three  or  four  camels  led  the  way; 
and  there  were  horses  too  and  asses  and  mules,  and  the 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  17 

mules  were  caparisoned  gaily,  the  one  reserved  for  Joseph's 
riding  more  richly  than  the  others  —  a  tall  fine  animal  by 
which  he  was  proud  to  stand,  asking  questions  of  the  mule- 
teer, while  admiring  the  dark  docile  eyes  shaded  with  black 
lashes.  Now  why  do  we  delay  ?  he  asked  Azariah,  who 
reminded  him  —  and  somewhat  tritely  —  that  he  had  not 
yet  said  good-bye  to  his  parents.  But  they  know  I'm  going 
with  you.  Sir,  he  answered.  Azariah  would  not,  however, 
allow  Joseph  to  mount  his  mule  till  he  had  bidden  good-bye 
to  his  father  and  grandmother,  and  he  brought  the  boy  back 
to  the  house,  but  without  earning  Dan's  approval,  who 
was  ashamed  before  Azariah  of  his  son's  eagerness  to  leave 
home;  a  subtlety  that  escaped  Rachel  who  chided  Dan 
saying :  try  to  remember  if  it  wasn't  the  same  with  thee, 
for  I  can  remember  thine  eyes  sparkling  at  the  sight  of  a 
horse  and  thy  knees  all  of  an  itch  to  be  on  to  him.  Well, 
said  Dan,  he'll  have  enough  riding  before  the  day  is  over, 
and  I  reckon  his  little  backside  will  be  sore  before  they  halt 
at  the  gates  of  Arimathea ;  a  remark  that  caused  Rachel 
to  turn  amazed  eyes  on  her  son  and  to  answer  harshly  that 
since  he  had  so  much  foresight  she  hoped  he  had  not  forgot- 
ten to  tell  Azariah  that  Joseph  must  have  a  long  rest  at 
midday.  But  thy  face  tells  me  no  order  has  been  given  for 
the  care  of  the  child  on  the  journey.  But  Azariah  cannot 
be  far  on  his  way.  I'll  send  a  messenger  to  caution  him 
that  Joseph  has  his  rest  in  the  shade. 

Dan  let  her  go  in  search  of  the  messenger  and  moved 
around  the  room  hoping  (he  knew  not  why)  that  the  mes- 
senger would  not  overtake  the  caravan,  the  which  he  very 
nearly  missed  doing,  for  while  Rachel  was  instructing  the 
messenger,  Joseph  was  asking  Azariah  if  he  might  have  a 
stick  to  belabour  his  mule  into  a  gallop.  The  cavalcade, 
he  said,  needed  a  scout  that  would  report  any  traces  of 
robbers  he  might  detect  among  the  rocks  and  bushes.  But 
we  aren't  likely  to  meet  robber  bands  this  side  of  Jordan, 
c 


1 8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Azariah  said,  they  keep  to  the  other  side;  and  he  told 
Joseph,  who  was  curious  about  everything,  that  along  the 
Jordan  were  great  marshes  into  which  the  nomads  drove 
their  flocks  and  herds  in  the  spring  to  feed  on  the  young 
grass.  So  they  are  there  now,  Joseph  replied  meditatively, 
for  he  was  thinking  he  would  like  better  to  ride  through 
marshes  full  of  reeds  than  through  a  hilly  country  where 
there  was  nothing  to  see  but  the  barley-fields  beset  by  an 
occasional  olive  garth.  But  hooves  were  heard  galloping 
in  the  rear  and  when  the  messenger  overtook  the  caravan 
and  blurted  out  Rachel's  instructions,  Joseph's  face  flushed. 
Now  what  can  a  woman  know,  he  cried,  about  a  journey 
like  this  ?  Tell  her,  he  said,  turning  to  the  messenger,  that 
I  shall  ride  and  rest  with  the  others.  And  as  an  earnest  of 
his  resolve  he  struck  the  messenger's  horse  so  sharply  across 
the  quarters  that  the  animal's  head  went  down  between 
his  knees  and  he  plunged  so  violently  that  the  messenger 
was  cast  sprawling  upon  the  ground.  The  cavalcade  roared 
with  laughter,  and  Joseph,  overjoyed  at  the  success  of  his 
prank,  begged  Azariah  to  wait  a  little  longer,  for  he  was 
curious  to  see  if  the  messenger  would  succeed  in  coaxing  his 
horse.  At  present  the  horse  seemed  in  no  humour  to  allow 
himself  to  be  mounted.  Whenever  the  messenger  ap- 
proached he  whinnied  so  menacingly  that  everybody  laughed 
again.  Is  there  none  amongst  you  that  will  help  me  to 
catch  the  horse  ?  the  poor  messenger  cried  after  the  depart- 
ing travellers.  We  have  a  long  day's  march  in  front  of  us, 
Azariah  said ;  and  he  warned  Joseph  not  to  beat  his  mule 
into  a  gallop  at  the  beginning  of  the  journey  or  he  would 
repent  it  later,  words  that  came  true  sooner  than  Joseph 
had  expected,  for  before  midday  he  was  asking  how  many 
miles  would  bring  them  to  the  caravansary.  In  about  an- 
other hour,  Azariah  answered,  and  Joseph  said  he  had  begun 
to  hate  his  mule  for  it  would  neither  trot  nor  gallop,  only 
walk.     Thou'rt  thinking  of  the  nomads  and  would  like  to 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  19 

be  after  them  flourishing  a  lance,  Azariah  said,  and  —  afraid 
that  he  was  being  laughed  at  —  Joseph  made  no  answer. 

After  the  rest  at  midday  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  his  duty 
to  see  that  his  mule  had  been  properly  fed,  and  he  bought 
some  barley  from  the  camel-driver,  but  while  he  was  giv- 
ing it  to  his  mule  Azariah  remarked  that  he  was  only  de- 
priving other  animals  of  their  fair  share  of  provender. 
It  is  hard,  he  said,  to  do  good  without  doing  wrong  to 
another.  But  the  present  is  no  time  for  philosophy :  we 
must  start  again.  And  the  cavalcade  moved  on  through 
the  hills,  avoiding  the  steep  ascents  and  descents  by  cir- 
cuitous paths,  and  Joseph,  who  had  not  seen  a  shepherd 
leading  his  flock  for  some  years,  became  all  of  a  sudden 
delighted  by  the  spectacle,  the  sheep  running  forward 
scenting  the  fresh  herbage  with  which  the  hills  were  covered 
as  with  dark  velvet. 

A  little  later  they  came  into  view  of  a  flock  of  goats 
browsing  near  a  wood,  and  Azariah  sought  to  improve  the 
occasion  by  a  little  dissertation  on  the  destructive  nature 
of  the  goat.  Of  late  years  a  sapling  rarely  escaped  them, 
and  still  more  regrettable  was  the  carelessness  of  the  shep- 
herd who  left  the  branches  they  had  torn  down  to  become 
dry  like  tinder.  He  spoke  of  many  forest  fires,  and  told 
all  the  stories  he  could  remember  in  the  hope  of  distracting 
Joseph's  thoughts  from  the  length  of  the  journey.  We  are 
now  about  half-way,  he  said,  disguising  the  truth.  We 
shall  see  the  city  upon  the  evening  glow  in  about  another 
hour.  The  longest  hour  that  I  have  ever  known,  Joseph 
complained  two  hours  later;  and  Azariah  laid  his  cloak 
over  Joseph's  saddle.  Dost  feel  more  comfortable  ^  A 
little,  the  child  answered.  At  the  sight  of  the  city  thy  heart 
will  be  lifted  again  and  the  suflFering  forgotten.  And  Joseph 
believed  him,  but  towards  the  end  of  the  day  the  miles 
seemed  to  stretch  out  indefinitely  and  at  five  o'clock  he  was 
crying :   shall  we  ever  get  to  Arimathea,  for  I  can  sit  on  this 


20  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

mule  no  longer,  nor  shall  I  be  able  to  stand  straight  upon 
my  legs  when  I  alight. 

Azariah  promised  they  would  be  at  the  gates  in  a  few 
minutes,  but  these  few  minutes  seemed  as  if  they  would 
never  pass  away,  but  they  did  pass,  and  at  the  gateway 
Joseph  toppled  from  his  mule  and  just  managed  to  hobble 
into  the  inn  at  which  they  were  to  sleep  that  night :  too 
tired  to  eat,  he  said,  too  tired,  he  feared,  to  sleep.  Azariah 
pressed  him  to  swallow  a  cup  of  soup  and  he  prepared  a  hot 
bath  for  him  into  which  he  poured  a  bottle  of  vinegar;  an 
excellent  remedy  he  reported  this  to  be  against  stiffness, 
and  it  showed  itself  to  be  such :  for  next  morning  Joseph 
was  quite  free  from  stiffness  and  said  he  could  walk  for 
miles.  Samuel's  rock  cannot  be  more  than  a  few  hundred 
yards  distant,  so  miles  are  not  necessary,  Azariah  answered, 
as  they  stepped  over  the  threshold  into  a  delightful  morn- 
ing all  smiles  and  greetings  and  subtle  invitations  to  come 
away  into  the  forest  and  fields,  full  of  promises  of  flowers 
and  songs,  but  in  conflict  with  their  project,  which  was  to 
inquire  out  their  way  from  the  maidens  at  the  fountain, 
who  would  be  sure  to  know  it,  and  in  its  shade  to  read  the 
story  of  David  and  Goliath  first  and  other  stories  afterwards. 
But  the  gay  morning  drew  their  thoughts  away  from  texts, 
and  without  being  aware  of  their  apostasy  they  had  already 
begun  to  indulge  in  hopes  that  the  maidens  would  be  late 
at  the  fountain  and  leave  them  some  time  to  loiter  by  the 
old  aqueduct  that  brought  the  water  in  a  tiny  stream  to 
fall  into  a  marble  trough :  an  erstwhile  sarcophagus,  maybe, 
Azariah  said,  as  he  gathered  some  water  out  of  it  with  his 
hands  and  drank,  telling  Joseph  to  do  likewise. 

There  were  clouds  in  the  sky,  so  the  sun  kept  coming 
and  going.  A  great  lantern,  Joseph  said.  That  God 
holds  in  his  hands,  Azariah  answered ;  and  when  tired  of 
waiting  for  maidens  who  did  not  appear  their  beguilement 
was  continued  by  shadows  advancing  and  retreating  across 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  21 

the  roadway.  The  town  was  an  enchantment  in  the  still 
limpid  morning,  but  when  they  rose  to  their  feet  their 
eyes  fell  on  a  greater  enchantment  —  the  hills  clothed  in 
moving  light  and  shade  so  beautiful  that  the  appeal  to 
come  away  to  the  woods  and  fields  continued  in  their  hearts 
after  they  had  lowered  their  eyes  and  would  not  be  denied, 
though  they  prayed  for  strength  to  adhere  to  their  original 
project.  It  had  died  out  of  their  hearts  through  no  fault 
of  theirs,  as  far  as  they  could  see;  and  wondering  how  they 
might  get  remission  from  it  they  strode  about  the  city,  idly 
casting  their  eyes  into  ravines  whither  the  walls  dropped, 
and  raising  them  to  the  crags  whither  the  walls  rose :  faith- 
ful servants,  Azariah  said,  that  have  saved  the  city  many 
times  from  robbers  from  the  other  side  of  Jordan. 

Joseph's  thoughts  were  far  away  on  the  hillside  oppo- 
site amid  the  woods,  and  Azariah's  voice  jarred.  By  this 
time,  he  said,  the  maidens  are  drawing  water.  But  perhaps, 
Joseph  answered,  none  will  be  able  to  tell  us  the  way  to  the 
rock,  and  if  none  has  heard  for  certain  on  which  rock  Samuel 
offered  sacrifice  we  might  go  roaming  over  the  hills  and  into 
forests  yonder  to  find  perhaps  some  wolf  cubs  in  a  cave. 
But  a  she-wolf  with  cubs  is  dangerous,  Azariah  replied.  If 
we  were  to  try  to  steal  her  cubs,  Joseph  interjected.  But 
we  don't  want  to  meddle  with  them,  only  to  see  them.  May 
we  go  roaming  to-day,  Sir,  and  read  the  story  of  David  and 
Goliath  to-morrow  ?  The  boy's  voice  was  full  of  entreaty 
and  Azariah  had  very  little  heart  to  disappoint  him,  but  he 
dared  not  break  an  engagement  which  he  looked  upon  as 
almost  sacred ;  and  walked  debating  with  himself,  asking 
himself  if  the  absence  of  a  maiden  at  the  fountain  might  be 
taken  as  a  sign  that  they  were  free  to  abandon  the  Scriptures 
for  the  day,  only  for  the  day.  And  seeing  the  fountain 
deserted  Joseph  cried  out  in  his  heart :  we  are  free  !  But 
as  they  turned  aside  to  go  their  way  a  maiden  came  with  a 
pitcher  upon  her  head ;    but  as  she  had  never  heard  of  the 


22  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

rock,  nor  indeed  of  Samuel,  Joseph  was  certain  that  God  had 
specially  designed  her  ignorant,  so  that  they  might  know 
that  the  day  before  them  was  for  enjoyment.  You  said, 
Sir,  that  if  none  could  direct  us  we  might  leave  the  story 
until  to-morrow.  I  did  not  say  that,  Azariah  answered. 
All  the  same  he  did  not  propose  to  wait  for  another  maiden 
more  learned  than  the  first,  but  followed  Joseph  to  the 
gates  of  the  city,  nor  did  he  raise  any  objection  to  pass- 
ing through  them,  and  they  stood  with  their  eyes  fixed 
on  the  path  that  led  over  the  brow  down  into  the  valley, 
a  crooked  twisting  path  that  had  seemed  steep  to  Azariah's 
mule  overnight  and  that  now  seemed  steeper  to  Azariah. 
And  will  seem  still  steeper  to  me  in  the  evening  when  we 
return  home  tired,  he  said.  But  we  shall  not  be  tired, 
Joseph  interposed,  we  need  not  go  very  far,  only  a  little 
way  into  the  forest.  And  he  did  not  dare  to  say  more, 
lest  by  some  careless  word  he  might  provoke  an  unpre- 
meditated opposition. 

He  dreaded  to  hear  the  words  on  Azariah's  lips :  you 
have  come  here  with  me  to  learn  Hebrew  and  may  not 
miss  a  lesson.  ...  If  he  could  persuade  Azariah  into  the 
path  he  would  not  turn  back  until  they  reached  the  valley, 
and  once  in  the  valley,  he  might  as  well  ascend  the  oppo- 
site hill  as  go  back  and  climb  up  the  hill  whence  they  had 
come.  I  am  afraid,  said  Azariah,  that  this  cool  morning 
will  pass  into  a  very  hot  day :  the  clouds  that  veil  the  sky 
are  dispersing.  We  shall  not  feel  the  heat  once  we  are 
in  the  forest,  Joseph  replied,  and  the  path  up  yonder  hill 
is  not  so  steep  as  the  paths  we  go  down  by.  You  see  the 
road,  Sir,  twisting  up  the  hillside,  and  it  is  planned  so  care- 
fully to  avoid  a  direct  ascent  that  a  man  has  just  belaboured 
his  ass  into  a  trot.  They  have  passed  behind  a  rock,  but 
we  shall  see  them  presently. 

Azariah  waited  a  moment  for  the  man  and  ass  to  re- 
appear,  but   after   all  he  was   not  much   concerned   with 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  23 

them,  and  began  to  descend  unmindful  of  the  lark  which 
mounted  the  sky  in  circles  singing  his  delirious  song.  Joseph 
begged  Azariah  to  hearken,  but  his  preceptor  was  too 
much  occupied  with  the  difficulties  of  the  descent,  nor 
could  he  be  persuaded  to  give  much  attention  to  a  flight  of 
doves  flying  hither  and  thither  as  if  they  had  just  discovered 
that  they  could  fly,  diving  and  wheeling  and  then  going 
away  in  a  great  company,  coming  back  and  diving  again, 
setting  Joseph  wondering  why  one  bird  should  separate 
himself  from  the  flock  and  alight  again.  Again  and  again 
this  happened,  the  flock  returning  to  release  him  from  his 
post.  Were  the  birds  playing  a  sort  of  game  ?  Frolick- 
ing they  were,  for  sure,  and  Joseph  felt  he  would  like  to 
have  wings  and  go  away  with  them,  and  he  wished  Azariah 
would  hasten,  so  pleasant  it  was  in  the  valley. 

A  pleasant  spacious  valley  it  was,  lying  between  two 
hills  of  about  equal  height :  the  hill  they  had  come  down 
was  a  little  steeper  than  the  hill  they  were  about  to  go 
up.  Joseph  noticed  the  shadows  that  fell  from  the  cliff^s 
and  those  that  the  tall  feathery  trees,  growing  out  of  the 
scrub,  cast  over  the  sunny  bottom  of  the  valley,  a  water- 
course probably  in  the  rainy  season ;  and  he  enjoyed  the 
little  puffing  winds  that  came  and  went,  and  the  insects 
that  came  out  of  their  hiding-places  to  enjoy  the  morning. 
The  dragonflies  were  bustling  about  their  business :  what 
it  was  was  not  easy  to  discover,  but  they  went  by  in  com- 
panies of  small  flies,  with  now  and  then  a  great  one  that 
rustled  past  on  gauzy  wings.  And  the  bees  were  coming 
and  going  from  their  hive  in  the  rocks,  incited  by  the  fra- 
grance of  the  flowers,  and  Joseph  watched  them  crawling 
over  the  anemones  and  leaving  them  hastily  to  bury  their 
blunt  noses  in  the  pistils  of  the  white  squills  that  abounded 
everywhere  in  the  corners,  in  the  inlets  and  bays  and  crev- 
ices of  the  rocks.  Butterflies,  especially  the  white,  pur- 
sued  love   untiringly   in   the    air,   fluttering   and   hovering, 


24  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

uniting  and  then  separating  —  aerial  wooings  that  Joseph 
followed  with  strained  eyes,  till  at  last  the  white  bloom 
passed  out  of  sight;  and  he  turned  to  the  dragonflies, 
hoping  to  capture  one  of  the  fearful  kind,  often  nearly 
succeeding,  but  failing  at  the  last  moment  and  returning 
disappointed  to  Azariah,  who,  seated  on  a  comfortable 
stone,  waited  till  Joseph's  ardour  should  abate  a  little. 
These  stones  will  be  too  hot  in  another  hour,  he  said.  But 
it  will  be  cool  enough  under  the  boughs,  Joseph  answered. 
Perhaps  too  cool,  Azariah  muttered,  and  Joseph  wondered 
if  it  were  reasonable  to  be  so  discontented  with  the  world, 
especially  on  a  morning  like  this,  he  said  to  himself;  and 
to  hearten  Azariah  he  mentioned  again  that  the  path  up 
the  hillside  zigzagged.  You'll  not  feel  the  ascent.  Sir.  To 
which  encouragement  Azariah  made  no  answer  but  drew 
Joseph's  attention  to  the  industry  of  the  people  of  Arima- 
thea.  The  eager  boy  could  spare  only  a  few  moments  for 
the  beauty  of  the  fig  and  mulberry  leaves  showing  against 
the  dark  rocks,  but  he  snuffed  the  scent  the  breeze  bore 
and  said  it  was  the  same  that  had  followed  them  yesterday. 
The  scent  of  the  vine-flower,  Azariah  rejoined.  The  hill- 
sides were  covered  with  the  pale  yellow  clusters,  Joseph 
replied.  But  I  thought  thee  too  tired  yesterday  to  notice 
anything.  Only  towards  the  end  of  the  journey,  Joseph 
muttered.  But  what  are  you  going  to  do.  Sir  f  he  asked. 
I  am  going  to  run  up  the  hill.  If  it  please  thee  to  run,  run, 
the  preceptor  answered,  and  as  he  followed  the  boy  at  a 
more  leisurely  pace  he  wondered  at  Joseph's  spindle  shanks 
struggling  manfully  against  the  ascent.  He'll  stop  before 
the  road  turns,  he  said,  but  Joseph  ran  on.  He  is  anxious 
to  reach  the  top,  Azariah  pondered.  There's  some  pleasant 
flowering  turf  atop  of  yon  hill :  he'll  like  to  roll  like  a  young 
donkey,  his  heels  in  the  air,  Azariah  said  to  himself  as  he 
ascended  the  steep  path,  stopping  from  time  to  time  that 
he  might  better  ponder  on  the  moral  of  this  spring  morn- 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  25 

ing.  He'll  roll  among  the  grass  and  flowers  like  a  young 
donkey,  and  then  run  hither  and  thither  after  insects  and 
birds,  his  heart  aflame  with  delight.  He  desires  so  many 
things  that  he  knows  not  what  he  desires,  only  that  he  de- 
sires. Whereas  I  can  but  remember  that  once  I  was  as 
he  is  to-day.  So  the  spring  is  sad  for  the  young  as  well  as 
for  the  old. 

But  old  as  he  was  he  was  glad  to  feel  that  he  was  still  liable 
to  the  season's  thrill  in  retrospect  at  least,  and  he  asked 
himself  questions :  How  many  years  ago  is  it  since  Miriam 
died  ?  But  he  did  not  get  further  with  his  recollections. 
The  ascent  is  too  steep,  he  said,  and  he  continued  the 
ascent  thinking  of  his  breath  rather  than  of  her,  while 
Joseph  stood  waiting  on  the  edge  of  the  rocks  and  cried 
out  in  the  fulness  of  his  joy  on  seeing  his  preceptor  appear 
above  the  cliff".  At  once  he  fell  to  rolling  himself  over  and 
over.  Just  as  I  expected  he  would,  Azariah  remarked 
to  himself.  And  then,  starting  to  his  feet,  Joseph  began 
gathering  flowers,  but  in  a  little  while  he  stood  still,  his 
nosegay  dropping  flower  by  flower,  for  his  thoughts  had 
taken  flight.  The  doves,  the  doves !  he  cried,  looking  into 
the  blue  and  white  sky.  The  doves  have  their  nests  in  the 
woods,  the  larks  build  in  the  grass  he  said,  and  asked  Aza- 
riah to  come  with  him.  The  nest  was  in  a  tuft.  But 
I've  not  touched  it,  he  said.  Three  years  ago  I  used  to 
rob  all  the  nests  and  blow  the  eggs,  you  see,  for  I  was  mak- 
ing a  collection.  Azariah  asked  him  if  the  lark  would 
grieve  for  her  eggs,  and  Joseph  answered  that  he  supposed 
she  would  soon  forget  them.  Hark  to  his  singing !  and 
he  ran  on  into  the  outskirts  of  the  woods,  coming  back 
a  few  minutes  afterwards  to  ask  Azariah  to  hasten,  for 
the  wood  was  more  beautiful  than  any  wood  he  had  ever 
seen.  And  if  you  know  the  trees  in  which  the  doves  build 
I  will  climb  and  get  the  nest.  Doves  build  in  taller  trees 
than   these,    in   fir-trees,    Azariah    answered.     But  this   is 


26  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

a  pretty  wood,  Joseph.  And  he  looked  round  the  quiet 
sunny  oak  wood  and  began  his  relation  that  this  wood  was 
probably  the  remains  of  the  ancient  forests  that  had  covered 
the  country  when  the  Israelites  came  out  of  the  north  of 
Arabia.  How  long  ago  was  that,  Sir  ?  Joseph  asked,  and 
Azariah  hazarded  the  answer  that  it  might  be  as  many  as 
fifteen  hundred  years  ago.  How  old  is  the  oldest  oak- 
tree  ?  Joseph  inquired,  and  Azariah  had  again  to  hazard 
the  answer  that  a  thousand  years  would  make  an  old  tree. 
And  when  will  these  trees  be  in  leaf,  Sir,  and  may  we  come 
to  Arimathea  when  they  are  in  leaf?  And  look,  somebody 
has  been  felling  trees  here.  Who  do  you  think  it  was,  Sir  ? 
Azariah  looked  round.  The  forest  must  have  been  supplying 
the  city  with  firewood  for  many  years,  he  said.  All  these  trees 
are  young  and  they  are  too  regularly  spaced  for  a  natural 
growth.  But  higher  up  the  hills  the  woods  are  denser  and 
darker,  and  there  we  may  find  some  old  trees.  Any  badgers 
and  foxes  ?  Joseph  asked,  and  shall  we  see  any  wolves .? 

The  sunny  woods  were  threaded  with  little  paths,  and 
Joseph  cast  curious  eyes  upon  them  all.  The  first  led 
him  into  bracken  so  deep  that  he  did  not  venture  farther, 
and  the  second  took  him  to  the  verge  of  a  dark  hollow  so 
dismal  that  he  came  running  back  to  ask  if  there  were 
crocodiles  in  the  waters  he  had  discovered.  He  did  not 
give  his  preceptor  time  to  answer  the  difficult  question, 
but  laid  his  hand  upon  his  arm  and  whispered  that  he  was 
to  look  between  two  rocks,  for  a  jackal  was  there,  slinking 
away  —  turning  his  pointed  muzzle  to  us  now  and  then.  To 
see  he  isn't  followed,  Azariah  added :  and  the  observation 
endeared  him  so  to  Joseph  that  the  boy  walked  for  a  moment 
pensively  in  the  path  they  were  following.  It  turned  into 
the  forest,  and  they  had  not  gone  very  far  before  they 
became  aware  of  a  strange  silence,  if  silence  it  could  be 
called,  for  when  they  listened  the  silence  was  full  of  sound, 
innumerable  little  sounds,  some  of  which  they  recognised ; 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  27 

but  it  was  not  the  hum  of  the  insects  or  the  chirp  of  a  bird 
or  the  snapping  of  a  rotten  twig  that  filled  Joseph  with 
awe,  but  something  that  he  could  neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor 
smell,  nor  touch.  The  life  of  the  trees  —  is  that  it  ?  he 
asked  himself.  A  remote  and  mysterious  life  was  certainly 
breathing  about  him,  and  he  regretted  he  was  without  a 
sense  to  apprehend  this  life. 

Again  and  again  it  seemed  that  the  forest  was  about 
to  whisper  its  secret,  but  something  always  happened  to 
interrupt.  Once  it  was  certainly  Azariah's  fault,  for  just 
as  the  trees  were  about  to  speak  he  picked  up  a  leaf  and 
began  to  explain  how  the  shape  of  an  oak  leaf  differed 
from  that  of  the  leaf  of  the  chestnut  and  the  ash.  A  patter 
was  heard  among  the  leaves.  There  she  goes  - —  a  hare ! 
Joseph  said,  and  a  moment  afterwards  a  white  thing  ap- 
peared. A  white  weasel,  Azariah  said.  Shall  we  follow 
him  ?  Joseph  asked,  and  Azariah  answered  that  it  would 
be  useless  to  follow.  We  should  soon  miss  them  in  the 
thickets.  And  he  continued  his  discourse  upon  trees,  hop- 
ing that  Joseph  would  never  again  mistake  a  sycamore  for 
a  chestnut.  And  what  is  that  tree  so  dark  and  gloomy 
rising  up  through  all  the  other  trees,  Joseph  asked,  so  much 
higher  than  any  of  them  .?  That  is  a  cedar,  Azariah  said. 
Do  doves  build  in  cedars  ?  Azariah  did  not  know,  and  the 
tree  did  not  inspire  a  climb  :  it  seemed  to  Torbid  any  attempt 
on  its  privacy.  Do  trees  talk  when  they  are  alone  ?  Joseph 
asked  Azariah,  and  his  preceptor  gave  the  very  sensible 
answer  that  the  life  of  trees  is  unknown  to  us,  but  that  trees 
had  always  awakened  religious  emotions  in  men.  The 
earliest  tribes  were  tree-worshippers,  which  was  very  fool- 
ish, for  we  can  fell  trees  and  put  them  to  our  usage. 

They  had  come  to  a  part  of  the  forest  in  which  there 
seemed  to  be  neither  birds  nor  beasts  and  Joseph  had  be- 
gun to  feel  the  forest  a  little  wearisome  and  to  wish  for 
a  change,  when   the  trees  suddenly  stopped,   and   before 


28  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

them  lay  a  sunny  interspace  full  of  tall  grass  with  here 
and  there  a  fallen  tree,  and  on  these  trees  prone  great  hzards 
sunned  themselves,  nodding  their  heads  in  a  motion  ever 
the  same.  Something  had  died  in  that  beautiful  inter- 
space, for  a  vulture  rose  sullenly  and  went  away  over  the 
top  of  the  trees,  and  Azariah  begged  Joseph  not  to  pursue 
his  search  but  to  hasten  out  of  the  smell  of  the  carrion  that 
a  little  breeze  had  just  carried  towards  them.  Besides, 
this  thick  grass  is  full  of  snakes,  he  said,  and  the  words 
were  no  sooner  out  of  his  mouth  than  a  snake  issued  from 
a  thick  tuft,  stopped  and  hissed.  Snakes  feed  on  mice  and 
rats  ?  Joseph  asked,  and  come  out  of  their  holes  to  catch 
them,  isn't  that  so,  Sir?  Everything  is  out  this  sunny 
morning,  seeking  its  food,  Azariah  answered :  snakes  after 
mice,  vultures  after  carrion.  This  way,  Joseph  —  yonder 
we  may  rest  awhile,  but  we  must  be  careful  not  to  sit  upon 
a  snake ;  that  knoll  yonder  is  free  from  vermin,  for  the  trees 
that  grow  about  it  are  fir-trees  and  snakes  do  not  like  any 
place  where  they  can  easily  be  detected.  And  they  sat  on 
the  fibrous  ground  and  looked  up  into  the  darkness  of  the 
withered  pines  —  withered  everywhere  except  in  the  top- 
most branches  that  alone  caught  the  light.  A  sad  place 
to  sit  in,  Joseph  said.  Don't  you  feel  the  sadness.  Sir .? 
Azariah  answered  that  he  did.  But  it  is  preferable  to 
snake-bites,  he  added.  At  that  moment  slowly  flapping 
wings  were  heard  overhead.  It  is  the  vulture  returning, 
Azariah  whispered  to  Joseph,  and  he  is  bringing  a  com- 
rade back  to  dinner.  To  a  very  smelly  dinner,  Joseph 
rejoined.  The  breeze  had  veered  suddenly  and  they  found 
themselves  again  in  the  smell  of  carrion. 

We  must  go  on  farther,  Azariah  said,  and  after  passing 
into  many  quiet  hollows  and  ascending  many  crests  the 
path  to  which  they  had  remained  faithful  debouched  at 
last  on  broken  ground  with  the  tail  end  of  the  forest  strag- 
gling up  the  opposite  hillside  in  groups  and  single  trees.     I 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  29 

know  where  we  are  now,  Joseph  cried.     Do  you  not  remem- 
ber, Sir Joseph's  explanation  was  cut  short  by  the 

sight  of  some  shepherds  sitting  at  their  midday  meal,  and 
hunger  falling  suddenly  upon  Azariah  and  Joseph,  both 
began  to  regret  they  had  not  brought  food  with  them. 
But  Azariah  had  some  shekels  tied  in  his  garment,  and  for 
one  of  these  pieces  of  silver  the  shepherds  were  glad  to 
share  their  bread  and  figs  with  them  and  to  draw  milk  for 
them  from  one  of  the  she-goats.  From  which  shall  I  draw 
milk  ?  the  shepherd  asked  his  mate,  and  the  mate  an- 
swered :  White-nose  looks  as  if  her  udder  is  paining  her. 
She  lost  her  kid  yesterday.  He  mentioned  two  others : 
Speckled  and  Long-ears.  Whichever  would  like  her  milk 
drawn  off  will  answer  to  thy  call,  the  shepherd  answered, 
and  the  goat  came  running  to  him  as  if  glad  to  hear  her 
name.  White-nose,  isn't  it ,?  Joseph  asked,  and  he  gathered 
a  branch  for  her,  and  while  she  nibbled  he  watched  the  milk 
drawn  off  and  drank  it  foaming  and  warm  from  the  jug, 
believing  it  to  be  the  sweetest  he  had  ever  drunk,  though 
he  had  often  drunk  goat's  milk  before.  Azariah,  too, 
vowed  that  he  had  never  drunk  better  milk  and  persuaded 
the  shepherds  into  discourse  of  their  trade,  learning  much 
thereby,  for  these  men  knew  everything  that  men  may  know 
about  flocks,  having  been  engaged  in  leading  them  from  pas- 
ture to  pasture  all  their  lives  and  their  fathers  before  them. 
After  telling  of  many  famous  rams  they  related  the 
courage  and  fidelity  of  their  dogs,  none  of  which  feared  a 
wolf,  and  they  mentioned  that  two  had  been  lost  in  an 
encounter  with  a  leopard  —  but  the  flock  had  been  saved. 
As  much  as  wolves  the  shepherds  feared  the  eagles.  There 
are  a  dozen  nests  in  yon  mountain  if  there  be  one.  Take 
the  strangers  up  the  hillside,  mate,  so  that  they  may  get 
a  sight  of  the  birds.  And  Azariah  and  Joseph  followed  the 
shepherd  up  to  the  crags  and  were  shown  some  birds  wheel- 
ing above  rocks    so  steep  that  there  was  no  foothold  for 


30  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

man.  Or  else  we  should  have  had  their  nests  long  ago, 
the  shepherd  said.  Now  this  is  a  bear's  trail.  He's  been 
seeking  water  here,  but  he  didn't  get  any ;  he  came  by  here, 
and  my  word,  he's  been  climbing  after  wild  bees.  The 
shepherd  showed  scratches  among  the  dropping  resin, 
saying :  it  was  here  that  he  clawed  his  way  up.  But  did 
he  get  the  honey  ?  Joseph  asked,  a  question  the  shepherd 
could  not  answer;  and  talking  about  bears  and  honey  and 
eagles  and  lambs  and  wolves  and  lions,  the  afternoon  passed 
away  without  their  feeling  it,  till  one  of  the  shepherds  said  : 
it  is  folding-time  now;  and  answering  to  different  calls  the 
flocks  separated,  and  the  shepherds  went  their  different 
ways  followed  by  their  flocks. 

The  sunset  had  begun  to  redden  the  sky,  and  the  shad- 
ows of  the  trees  drew  out  as  they  crossed  the  hillside  and 
descended  by  the  steep  path  into  the  valley.  The  ascent 
that  faced  them  was  steep  indeed,  and  Azariah  had  to  rest 
several  times,  but  at  last  they  reached  the  slope  on  which 
the  city  was  built :  but  they  did  not  enter  the  gates  yet 
awhile  but  stood  looking  back,  thinking  of  the  day  that  had 
gone  by.  We  shall  remember  this  day  always,  Joseph  said, 
if  we  live  to  be  as  old  as  the  patriarchs.  Was  it  then,  so 
wonderful?  Azariah  asked,  and  Joseph  could  only  answer: 
yes,  very  wonderful.  Didn't  you  think  so  ?  and  tell  me,  he 
added,  is  it  true  that  God  is  going  to  destroy  the  world  and 
very  soon  ?  Why  dost  thou  ask,  Joseph  ?  Azariah  replied, 
and  Joseph  answered :  because  the  world  is  so  very  beauti- 
ful. I  never  saw  the  world  before  to-day.  My  eyes  were 
opened,  and  I  shall  be  sorry  if  God  destroys  the  world,  for 
I  should  like  to  see  more  of  it.  But  why  should  he  make 
a  beautiful  world,  and  then  destroy  it .?  Don't  you  think 
he'll  relent  when  the  time  comes  and  the  day  be  as  beau- 
tiful as  it  was  this  morning .''  Azariah  answered  him  that 
God  does  not  relent,  for  He  knows  the  past  and  future  as 
well  as  the  present,  and  that  the  world  is  not  as  beautiful 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  31 

as  it  seems  to  be,  for  man  is  sinning  always,  though  certainly 
God  said  all  things  are  beautiful.  But  perhaps  we  sinned 
this  morning  in  the  sight  of  God.  We  sinned  ?  Joseph 
repeated.  .  How  did  we  sin  ?  Hast  forgotten,  Azariah  an- 
swered, that  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  spend  the 
day  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  we've  spent  it  talking  to 
shepherds  ?  Was  that  a  sin  ?  Joseph  asked.  We  can 
read  the  Scriptures  to-morrow;  if  the  day  be  clouded  and 
rain  comes,  we  can  read  them  indoors.  If  the  day  be 
clouded,  Azariah  replied  smiling.  But  was  not  thy  life 
dedicated  to  Samuel  ?  Thou  hast  forgotten  him.  But  the 
world  is  God's  world.  Joseph  answered  that  he  had  for- 
gotten his  vow,  and  all  that  evening,  in  spite  of  Azariah's 
gentleness  with  him,  he  was  pursued  by  the  memory  of  the 
sin  he  had  committed.  In  Samuel's  own  city  he  had  broken 
his  vow !  And  Azariah  heard  the  boy  blubbering  in  the 
darkness  that  night. 


CHAPTER  III 

HE  should  not  have  interrupted  the  manifestations  of  joy 
at  his  return  with :  when  may  I  go  to  Arimathea  again  ? 
And  his  second  question  was  hardly  less  indiscreet :  why 
did  we  leave  Arimathea  ?  His  father  answered :  because 
it  suited  us  to  do  soj  and  Joseph  withdrew  to  Rachel  who 
was  never  gruff  with  him.  But  despite  her  bias  in  favour 
of  all  he  said  and  did  she  reproved  him,  saying  that  he 
should  not  ask  as  soon  as  he  returned  home  when  he  was 
going  away  again.  I  am  glad  in  a  way.  Granny,  but  there's 
no  forest  here.  Dan  left  the  room,  and  the  boy  would 
tell  no  more  but  burst  into  tears,  asking  what  he  had  done 
to  make  Father  so  angry.  Rachel  could  not  tell  him  with 
safety,  and  Joseph,  thinking  that  perhaps  something  un- 
pleasant had  happened  to  his  father  in  the  forest  (a  wolf 
may  have  bitten  him  there),  spoke  of  the  high  rock  on  the 
next  occasion  and  of  the  story  of  Jonathan  and  David  that 
Azariah  had  read  to  him.  Thou'lt  ask  him  to  come  here 
one  night,  Father,  and  translate  it  to  thee  ?  Promise  me 
that.  But  I  can  read  Hebrew,  Dan  replied,  and  there  is 
no   reason   for  those   wondering   eyes.     Thy   Granny   will 

tell  thee.     But,  Father  Joseph  stopped  suddenly.     It 

had  come  into  his  mind  to  ask  his  father  how  it  was  that 
he  had  never  read  the  story  of  Jonathan  and  David  to  him, 
but  his  interest  in  the  matter  dying  suddenly,  he  said : 
to-morrow  I  begin  my  lessons,  and  Azariah  tells  me  that 
I  must  have  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures  for  my  very  own  use. 
Now  where  are  thy  thoughts  ?  In  a  barrel  of  salt  fish  ? 
Father,  do  listen.     I'd  like  to  learn  Hebrew  from  bottom 

33 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  33 

to  top  and  from  top  to  bottom  and  then  sideways,  so  as  to 
put  the  Scribes  in  Jerusalem  to  shame  when  thou  sendest 
me  thither  for  the  Feast  of  the  Passover.  And  thou'lt 
mind  that  my  Scriptures  be  made  by  the  best  Scribe  in 
Galilee  and  on  the  best  parchment,  promise  me,  Father ! 

Dan  promised  his  son  that  no  finer  manuscript  should 
be  procurable  in  Galilee.  But  the  making  of  this  magnifi- 
cent copy  would  delay  for  many  months  Joseph's  instruc- 
tion in  Hebrew,  and  Joseph  was  so  impatient  to  begin 
that  he  lay  awake  that  night  and  in  the  morning  ransacked 
his  father's  rooms,  laying  hands  on  some  quires  of  his  father's 
Scriptures;  and  no  sooner  out  of  the  house  than  a  great 
fear  fell  upon  him  that  he  might  be  robbed :  the  quires  were 
hidden  in  his  vest  suddenly  and  he  walked  on  in  confidence, 
also  in  a  great  seriousness,  going  his  way  melancholy  as  a 
camel,  his  head  turned  from  the  many  temptations  that  the 
way  offered  to  him  —  the  flower  in  the  cactus  hedge  was 
one.  He  passed  it  without  picking  it,  and  further  on  he 
allowed  a  strange  crawling  insect  to  go  by  without  molesta- 
tion, and  feeling  his  mood  to  be  exceptional  he  fell  to  think- 
ing that  his  Granny  would  laugh,  were  she  to  see  him. 

He  was  not,  however,  afraid  of  her  laughing :  women 
had  no  sense  of  the  Word  of  God,  he  muttered.  There 
were  nests  in  the  trees,  but  he  kept  himself  from  looking, 
lest  a  nest  might  inspire  him  to  climb  for  it.  But  nobody 
could  climb  trees  with  several  quires  of  Scriptures  under 
his  arm.  He  would  lose  his  grip  and  fall,  or  else  the  Scrip- 
tures would  fall,  and  if  a  thief  happened  to  be  going  by  it 
would  be  easy  for  him  to  pick  up  the  quires  and  away  with 
them  before  it  would  be  possible  for  Joseph  to  slide  down  the 
tree  and  raise  a  hue  and  cry. 

The  lanes  through  which  his  way  took  him  were  frequented 
by  boys,  ball-players  every  one  of  them,  and  at  this  time 
ball-playing  was  a  passion  with  Joseph  and  he  would  steal 
away  whenever  he  got  a  chance  and  spend  a  whole  day  in 


34  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

an  alley  with  a  number  of  little  ragamuffins.  And  if  he  were 
to  meet  the  tribe,  which  was  as  likely  as  not  at  the  next  turn- 
ing, he  must  tell  them  that  he  was  going  to  school  and  dared 
not  stop.  But  they  would  jeer  at  him.  He  might  give 
them  his  ball  and  in  return  they  might  not  mock  at  him.  He 
walked  very  quietly,  hoping  to  pass  unobserved,  but  a  boy 
was  looking  over  the  cactus  hedge  and  called  to  him,  asking 
if  he  had  brought  a  ball  with  him,  for  they  had  lost  theirs. 
He  threw  his  ball  to  him.  But  aren't  you  coming  to  play 
with  us  ?  Not  to-day,  Joseph  answered.  I'm  on  my  way 
to  school.  Well,  to-morrow  ?  Not  to-morrow.  I  may  not 
play  truant  from  learning,  Joseph  answered  sententiously, 
walking  away,  leaving  his  former  playmates  staring  after 
him  without  a  word  in  their  mouths.  But  by  the  next  day 
they  had  recovered  their  speech  and  cried  out :  the  fish- 
monger's son  is  going  by  to  his  lessons  and  dare  not  play 
at  ball.  Azariah  would  whip  him  if  he  did.  One  a  little 
bolder  than  the  rest  dangled  a  piece  of  rope  in  his  face  say- 
ing :  this  is  what  you'd  get  if  you  stayed  with  us.  He  was 
moved  to  run  after  the  boy  and  cufF  him,  but  the  quires 
under  his  arms  restrained  him  and  he  passed  on,  keeping  a 
dignified  silence.  Soon  thou'lt  be  reading  to  us  in  the 
synagogues !  was  the  last  jeer  cried  after  him  that  day, 
but  for  many  a  day  he  caught  sight  of  a  face  grinning  at 
him  through  the  hedge,  and  the  way  to  his  lessons  became 
hateful. 

As  he  showed  no  sign  of  anger,  the  persecution  grew  weari- 
some to  the  persecutors,  and  soon  after  he  discovered  another 
way  to  Azariah.  But  this  way  was  beset  with  women, 
whose  sex  impelled  a  yearning  for  this  tall  lithe  boy  with 
the  gazelle-like  eyes.  Joseph  was  more  inclined  to  the 
welcome  of  the  Greek  poets  and  sculptors  who  stopped  their 
mules  and  leaning  from  high  saddles  spoke  to  him,  for  he 
was  now  beginning  to  speak  Greek  and  it  was  pleasant  to 
avail  himself  of  the  advantages  of  the  road  to  chatter  his 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  35 

Greek  and  to  acquire  new  turns  of  phrases.  Why  not  ? 
since  it  seemed  to  be  the  wish  of  these  men  to  instruct  him. 
My  very  model !  a  bearded  man  cried  out  one  morning, 
and  stopping  his  mule  he  bent  from  the  saddle  towards 
Joseph  and  asked  him  many  questions.  Joseph  told  him 
that  he  was  on  his  way  to  his  lessons  and  that  he  passed 
through  this  lane  every  morning.  At  these  words  the 
sculptor's  eyes  lighted  up,  for  he  had  accepted  Joseph's 
answer  as  a  tryst,  and  when  Joseph  came  through  the  lane 
next  day  he  caught  sight  of  the  sculptor  waiting  for  him 
and  —  flattered  —  Joseph  entered  into  conversation  with 
him,  resisting,  however,  the  sculptor's  repeated  invitation 
that  Joseph  should  come  to  sit  to  him  —  if  not  for  a  statue, 
for  a  bust  at  least.  But  a  bust  is  a  graven  image,  Joseph 
answered,  and  as  the  point  was  being  debated  a  rich  merchant 
came  by,  riding  a  white  horse  that  curveted  splendidly,  and 
Joseph,  who  was  interested  in  the  horse,  referred  the  diffi- 
culty they  were  engaged  in  to  the  merchant.  After  some 
consideration  of  it  he  asked  the  meaning  of  the  scrolls  that 
Joseph  carried  in  his  hand,  feigning  an  interest  in  them  and 
in  Azariah.  Who  is  he  ?  he  asked,  and  Joseph  answered  : 
a  very  learned  man,  my  tutor,  to  whom  I  must  be  on  my 
way.  And  with  a  pretty  bow  he  left  merchant  and  sculptor 
exchanging  angry  looks. 

But  the  sculptor  knowing  more  of  Joseph  than  the  mer- 
chant —  that  he  would  be  passing  through  the  lane  on  the 
morrow  at  the  same  time  —  and  as  the  boy's  beauty  was  of 
great  importance  to  him,  kept  another  tryst,  waiting  im- 
patiently, and  as  soon  as  Joseph  appeared  he  began  to  be- 
seech him  to  come  to  Tiberias  and  pose  in  his  studio  for  a 
statue  he  was  carving,  offering  presents  that  would  have 
shaken  many  determinations.  But  Joseph  was  as  firm  to- 
day as  he  was  yesterday,  I  must  be  going  on  to  my  Hebrew, 
he  said,  and  he  left  the  sculptor  cast  away  in  dreams.  He 
had  not  gone  very  far,  however,  before  he  met  the  merchant. 


36  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

who  happened  to  be  passing  through  the  lane  again,  and 
seeing  Joseph  his  eyes  Hghted  up  with  pleasure,  and  after 
speaking  to  him  he  dismounted  from  his  mule  and  showed 
him  a  beautiful  engraved  dagger  which  Joseph  desired 
ardently;  but  a  present  so  rich  he  did  not  care  to  accept, 
and  hurried  away,  nor  did  he  look  back,  so  busy  was  he  in- 
venting reasons  as  he  went  for  the  delay. 

I  do  not  deny.  Sir,  that  I'm  past  my  time,  but  not  by 
an  hour;  at  most  by  half  an  hour.  Playing  at  ball  again, 
and  in  the  purlieus  of  the  neighbourhood,  against  your 
father's  instructions !  Azariah  said,  his  face  full  of  storm. 
No,  Sir,  I  have  put  ball-playing  out  of  my  mind  ;  or  Hebrew 
has  put  it  out  of  my  mind,  and  Greek  too  has  had  a  say 
in  the  matter.  The  delay  was  caused  by  meeting  a  sculptor 
who  asked  me  to  pose  before  him  for  a  statue.  And  what 
was  thy  answer  to  him  ?  That  we  were  forbidden  by  our 
laws  to  look  upon  graven  images.  And  what  answer  did 
he  give  to  that  very  proper  answer  ?  Azariah  asked,  some- 
what softened.  Many  answers.  Sir,  and  among  them  was 
this  one :  that  there  was  no  need  for  me  to  look  upon  the 
statue  he  was  carving.  The  answer  that  one  might  expect 
from  a  Greek,  Azariah  rapped  out,  one  that  sets  me  thinking 
that  there  is  more  to  be  said  against  the  Greek  language 
than  I  cared  to  admit  to  thy  father  when  last  in  argument 
with  him  on  the  subject.  But,  Sir,  you  will  not  forbid  me 
the  reading  of  Menander  for  no  better  reason  than  that  a 
Greek  asked  that  he  might  carve  a  statue  after  me,  for  what 
am  I  to  blame,  since  yourself  said  my  answer  was  com- 
mendable ?  And  in  these  words  th€re  was  so  plaintive  an 
accent  that  Azariah's  heart  was  touched,  for  he  guessed  that 
the  diverting  scene  in  which  the  slave  arranges  for  a  meeting 
between  the  lovers  was  in  the  boy's  mind. 

At  that  moment  their  eyes  went  together  to  the  tally 
on  the  wall,  and  pointing  to  it  Joseph  said  it  bore  witness 
to  the  earnestness  with  which  he  had  pursued  his  studies 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  37 

for  the  last  six  months,  and  Azariah  was  forced  to  admit 
there  was  little  to  complain  of  in  the  past,  but  he  had  noticed 
that  once  a  boy  came  late  for  his  lessons  his  truancy  became 
common.  Moreover,  Sir,  my  time  is  of  importance,  Azariah 
declared,  his  hairy  nostrils  swelling  at  the  thought  of  the 
half  hour  he  had  been  kept  waiting.  But  may  we  finish 
Menander's  comedy  ?  Joseph  asked,  for  he  was  curious  to 
learn  if  Moschion  succeeded  in  obtaining  his  father's  leave 
to  marry  the  girl  he  had  put  in  the  family  way.  The  lovers' 
plan  was  to  ingratiate  themselves  with  the  father's  concubine 
and  to  persuade  her  to  get  permission  to  rear  and  adopt  the 
child.  Yes,  Joseph,  the  father  relents.  But  it  would  please 
me.  Sir,  to  learn  why  he  relents.  And  Joseph  promised,  that 
he  would  be  for  a  whole  year  in  advance  of  his  time  rather 
than  behind  it.  He  did  not  doubt  that  he  would  be  able 
to  keep  his  promise,  for  he  had  found  a  new  way  to  Tiberias ; 
a  deserted  way  it  seemed  to  be  at  first,  and  most  propitious, 
without  the  temptations  of  ball-players,  but  as  the  season 
advanced  the  lane  became  infested  by  showmen  on  their 
way  to  Tiberias :  mummers,  acrobats,  jugglers,  fortune- 
tellers, star-mongers,  dealers  in  charms  and  amulets,  and 
Joseph  was  tempted  more  than  once  to  stop  and  speak  with 
these  random  folk,  but  the  promise  he  had  given  Azariah 
was  sufficiently  powerful  to  inspire  a  dread  and  a  dislike  of 
these,  and  to  avoid  them  he  sought  for  a  third  way  to  Tibe- 
rias and  found  one :  a  path  through  an  orchard  belonging  to 
a  neighbour  who  was  glad  to  give  him  permission  to  pass 
through  it  every  morning,  which  he  did,  thereby  making 
progress  in  his  studies  till  one  day,  by  the  stile  over  which 
his  custom  was  to  vault  into  the  quiet  lane,  he  came 
suddenly  upon  what  seemed  to  him  like  a  small  encamp- 
ment: wayfarers  of  some  sort  he  judged  them  to  be,  but 
of  what  sort  he  could  not  tell  at  first,  there  being  some 
distance  and  the  branches  of  an  apple-tree  between  him  and 
them. 


38  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

But  as  he  came  through  the  trees,  he  decided  in  his  mind 
that  they  were  the  servitude  of  some  great  man  :  varlets, 
hirelings  or  slaves.  But  his  eyes  fell  on  their  baskets  and 
—  deceived  by  the  number  and  size  of  these  —  the  thought 
crossed  his  mind  that  they  might  be  poulterers  on  their  way 
to  Tiberias.  But  whatever  their  trade  they  had  no  right  to 
encamp  in  the  orchard,  and  he  informed  them  politely  that 
the  orchard  belonged  to  friends  of  his,  and  that  large  and 
fierce  dogs  were  loose  about  the  place.  For  his  warning  they 
thanked  him,  saying  they'd  make  off  at  once ;  remarking  as 
they  made  their  preparations  for  going  that  they  did  not 
think  they  were  doing  any  harm  by  coming  into  the  orchard, 
having  only  crossed  the  stile  to  rest  themselves. 

Going  with  poultry  to  Tiberias  ?  Joseph  said.  Not  with 
poultry,  Sir,  the  varlets  answered.  We  are  not  poulterers, 
but  cockers.  Cockers !  Joseph  repeated,  and  on  reading 
the  blank  look  in  his  face  they  told  him  they  were  the  servants 
of  a  great  Roman  who  had  sent  them  in  search  of  fighting 
cocks ;  for  a  great  main  was  going  to  be  fought  that  day  in 
Tiberias.  We  are  his  cockers,  a  man  said  (he  spoke  with 
some  slight  authority,  the  others  seemed  to  be  in  his  charge), 
and  have  been  far  in  search  of  these  birds.  He  pointed  to 
the  baskets  and  asked  Joseph  if  he  would  care  to  see  the  cocks, 
and  as  if  to  awaken  Joseph's  curiosity  he  began  to  tell  their 
pedigrees.  That  one,  he  said,  is  a  Cilician  and  of  a  breed 
that  has  won  thousands  of  shekels,  and  a  bird  in  the  basket 
next  him  is  a  Bithynian  brown-red,  the  victor  in  many  a 
main,  and  the  birds  in  the  next  three  baskets  are  Cappadocian 
Duns,  all  of  celebrated  ancestry,  for  our  master  will  have 
none  but  the  finest  birds ;  and  if  you  happen  to  know  of  any 
good  birds,  price  will  not  stand  in  the  way  of  our  purchasing 
them.     Joseph  answered  that  he  had  not  heard  of  any,  but 

if  he  should .     You'll  not  forget  us,  said  a  small  meagre 

woman  with  black  shining  eyes  in  a  colourless  face,  drab 
as  the  long  desert  road  she  had  come  by.     Joseph  promised ; 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  39 

and  then  a  short  thickset  man  with  matted  hair,  and  sore 
eyes  that  were  always  fixed  on  the  ground,  opened  one  of 
the  baskets  and  took  out  a  long  lean  bird,  which  he  held  in 
shining  fingers  for  Joseph's  admiration.  Listen  to  him,  cried 
the  woman  in  a  high  thin  voice.  Listen  to  him,  for  no  one 
can  set  a  cock  a-sparring  like  him.  The  servants  consulted 
among  themselves  in  a  language  Joseph  did  not  understand, 
and  then  as  if  they  had  come  to  an  agreement  among  them- 
selves, the  foreman  said,  approaching  Joseph  and  cringing 
a  little  before  him,  that  if  the  little  master  could  assure  them 
they  would  not  be  disturbed  by  dogs,  they  would  like  to  show 
him  the  cocks.  A  little  exercise,  the  man  said,  would  be  of 
advantage  to  the  birds  —  to  those  that  were  not  fighting 
that  morning  —  he  added,  and  the  man  whom  the  woman 
nicknamed  the  Heeler,  a  nickname  acquired  from  the  dex- 
terity with  which  he  fitted  the  cock's  heels  with  soft  leather 
pads,  said  :  you  see,  master,  they  may  fight  and  buffet  one 
another  for  a  space  without  injury. 

Joseph  watched  the  birds  advance  and  retire  and  pursue 
each  other,  and  after  this  exhibition  they  were  put  back 
into  their  baskets  and  covered  with  hay.  So  you  are  the 
Heeler  ?  Joseph  asked.  The  man  grinned  vacantly,  and 
the  woman  answered  for  him.  There  is  none  like  him  in  this 
country  for  fixing  a  pair  of  spurs,  for  cutting  the  tail  and 
wings  and  shortening  the  hackle  and  the  rump  feathers.  You 
see,  young  master,  the  comb  is  cut  close  so  that  there  shall 
be  no  mark  for  t'other  bird's  bill.  And  who  knows  but  you'd 
like  to  see  the  spurs,  master.  And  she  showed  him  spurs 
of  two  kinds,  for  there  are  cocks  that  fight  better  with  long 
spurs  and  cocks  that  fight  better  with  short.  And  how  many 
days  does  it  take  to  train  a  cock  ?  Joseph  asked,  and  they 
began  to  tell  him  that  a  fighting  cock  must  be  fed  with  bread 
and  spring  water,  and  have  his  exercise  —  running  and 
sparring  —  every  day.  It  was  the  woman  that  kept  Joseph 
in  chat,  for  the  men  were  busy  carrying  the  baskets  over  the 


40  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

stile  and  placing  them  in  mule  cars  that  were  waiting  in  the 
lane.  But,  young  master,  she  said,  if  you've  never  seen  a 
cock-fight  come  with  us,  for  a  better  one  you'll  never  live  to 
see.  The  best  birds  in  Western  Asia  will  be  in  Tiberias  to- 
day. Joseph  did  not  answer  this  invitation  at  once,  for  he 
did  not  altogether  like  this  woman  nor  her  manner  of  standing 
near  to  him,  her  black  shining  eyes  fixed  upon  him.  But 
he  was  like  one  infected,  and  could  not  escape  from  his  desire 
to  see  a  cock-fight.  He  knew  that  Azariah  would  never  for- 
give him  for  keeping  him  waiting  .  .  .  waiting  for  how  long  ? 
he  asked  himself.  Till  he  cares  to  wait  no  longer,  his  con- 
science answered  him.  He  was  going  to  get  into  great  trouble, 
but  he  could  not  say  no  to  the  cockers,  and  he  followed 
them,  asking  himself  when  he  should  escape  from  the  evil 
spirit  which  —  at  their  instigation,  perhaps  —  had  taken 
possession  of  him.  A  moment  after  he  was  assuring  himself 
that  the  folk  he  had  fallen  in  with  were  ignorant  of  every- 
thing but  cockering,  without  knowledge  of  witchcraft,  star- 
mongering  or  sortilege  —  the  servants  of  some  great  Roman, 
without  doubt,  which  was  sufficient  assurance  that  though 
they  might  be  cock  stealers  on  occasion  they  were  not  kid- 
nappers. Besides,  in  frequented  lanes  and  in  Tiberias  the 
stealing  of  a  boy  was  out  of  the  question,  and  after  seeing 
one  or  two  cocks  killed  he  could  return  home,  for  he  need 
not  wait  till  the  end.  He  could  not  help  himself,  he  must 
see  the  great  red  and  yellow  bird  strike  his  spur  through 
the  head  of  his  adversary,  as  the  Heeler  told  him  he  had  never 
failed  to  do  in  many  combats.  And  he  would  not  fail  now, 
though  he  was  two  years  old,  which  is  old  for  a  fighting  cock. 
You  see,  little  master,  the  woman  said,  they'd  be  not  as  quick 
on  their  legs  as  they  get  older,  nor  are  they  as  eager  to  fight. 
To-day's  battle  will  be  his  last  —  win  or  lose  —  and  if  he 
comes  out  alive  at  the  end  he'll  go  to  the  hens,  which  will 
be  more  frolicsome  than  having  spurs  driven  into  his  neck  as 
happened  three  months  gone  by,  but  it  didn't  check  his  spirit. 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  41 

she  continued,  he  killed  his  bird  and  let  off  one  great  crowing 
before  he  toppled  over :  we  thought  he  was  gone,  but  I  sucked 
his  wound,  bathed  it  with  salt  and  water,  and  you  see  he's 
none  the  worse  to-day. 

At  every  turning  of  the  lane  the  demon  seemed  to  propel 
Joseph  more  violently,  till  at  last  he  put  Azariah  out  of  his 
head  and  began  to  ask  himself  if  he  would  be  guilty  of  any 
great  sin  in  going  to  see  the  cock-fight  ?  Of  any  sin  greater 
than  that  of  following  the  custom  of  the  heathen  ?  His 
father  might  be  angry,  but  there'd  be  no  particular  atone- 
ment :  a  fast  day,  or  some  study  of  the  law,  no  more,  for 
he'd  be  careful  not  to  raise  his  eyes  to  the  gods  and  goddesses 
that  beset  the  streets  and  public  places  in  Tiberias.  And 
on  this  resolve  he  followed  the  cockers  into  the  city.  He  was 
glad  to  see  that  many  statues  stood  on  the  roofs  of  the  build- 
ings and  so  far  away  that  no  faces  or  limbs  were  visible; 
but  the  statues  in  the  streets  were  difficult  to  avoid  seeing. 
Worst  of  all,  the  cock-fight  that  he  thought  would  be  fought 
in  the  open  air  had  been  arranged  to  happen  in  a  great 
building  —  a  theatre  or  circus  —  he  did  not  know  which. 
Joseph  had  never  seen  so  great  a  crowd  before,  and  the 
servants  he  had  come  with  pointed  out  to  him  their  master 
among  a  group  of  Romans.  The  Jews  from  Alexandria, 
he  was  told,  came  to  these  games,  and  this  caused  his 
conscience  to  quicken,  for  he  had  heard  his  father  speak 
of  the  Alexandrian  Jews  as  heretics.  Azariah  did  not  hold 
such  orthodox  views,  but  what  his  tutor's  views  were  about 
cock-fighting  Joseph  did  not  know;  and  when  he  asked 
if  he  might  approach  the  ring  he  was  told  that  the  circle 
about  the  ring  was  for  the  Romans  and  those  whom  they 
might  invite,  but  he'd  be  able  to  see  very  well  from  where 
he  was. 

The  Romans  seemed  to  him  an  arrogant  and  proud  people ; 
and,  conscious  of  an  innate  hostility,  he  watched  them  as 
they  leaned  over  the  railing  that  enclosed  the  fighting  ring, 


42  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

talking  among  themselves,  sometimes,  however,  deigning 
to  call  a  Jew  to  join  them.  The  Jews  came  to  them  obse- 
quiously, hoping  that  the  honour  bestowed  upon  them  did 
not  escape  notice;  and  Joseph's  ear  caught  servile  phrases: 
young  Sir,  it  is  reported  you've  a  bird  that  will  smite  down 
all  comers,  and,  Sir,  we  can  offer  you  but  a  poor  show  of  birds. 

Those  at  Rome 

A  sudden  silence  fell,  which  was  broken  by  the  falling  of 
dice,  and  Joseph  was  told  that  the  throw  would  decide  which 
seven  birds  were  to  begin.  .  .  .  We  have  won  the  throw, 
was  whispered  in  his  ear.  We've  the  advantage.  But 
why  it  was  an  advantage  to  fight  from  the  right  rather  than 
from  the  left  Joseph  was  too  excited  to  inquire,  for  the  cocks 
had  just  been  put  into  the  ring  or  pit,  and  Joseph  recognised 
the  tall  lank  bird  that  the  Heeler  had  taken  out  of  his  basket 
in  the  orchard.  He's  fighting  to-day  with  long  spurs,  he  was 
told.  But  why  does  he  fight  the  other  bird  —  a  yearling  ? 
he  heard  the  woman  ask ;  and  he  saw  a  black  cock  crouch  to 
meet  the  red  in  deadly  fight.  Must  one  die  ?  he  asked, 
but  the  cockers  were  too  intent  on  the  battle  to  answer  his 
question.  The  birds  re-sparred  and  leaped  aside,  avoid- 
ing each  other's  rushes,  and  before  long  it  became  clear 
even  to  Joseph  that  their  bird,  though  stronger  than  the 
younger  bird,  did  not  spring  as  high  or  as  easily.  A  good 
bird,  he  heard  the  servants  say:  there'll  be  a  battle  for  it, 
my  word,  there  will,  and  our  bird  will  win  if  the  young 
one  doesn't  get  his  stroke  in  quickly ;  an  old  bird  will  tire 
out  a  young  bird.  ...  As  these  words  were  spoken,  the 
black  cock  dashed  in,  and  with  a  quick  stroke  sent  his  spur 
through  the  red  bird's  head.  He's  gone  this  time  beyond 
thy  care !  And  tears  came  into  Lydia's  eyes.  I'm  sorry, 
I'd  have  liked  to  have  seen  him  end  his  days  happily  among 
the  hens,  a-treading  of  them.  Joseph  felt  he  had  not  rightly 
understood  her,  and  when  he  inquired  out  her  meaning  from 
her,  she  told  it  with  so  repulsive  a  leer  that  he  could  not 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  43 

conquer  a  sudden  dislike.  He  moved  away  from  her  imme- 
diately and  asked  her  no  more  questions. 

More  cocks  were  set  to  fight,  and  they  fought  to  the 
death  always :  only  once  did  a  cock  turn  tail  and  refuse 
to  continue  the  combat.  To  persuade  him  to  be  brave,  the 
slave  in  charge  placed  him  breast  to  breast  with  his  adversary, 
but  despite  all  encouragement  he  turned  tail  and  hid  him- 
self in  the  netting.  Now  what  will  happen  to  him,  Joseph 
asked.  First  he'll  be  cut  and  then  fattened  for  the  spit  or 
the  gridiron,  the  Heeler  answered.  Look,  young  master, 
and  turning  his  eyes  whither  the  Heeler's  finger  pointed, 
Joseph  saw  the  bird's  owner  sign  to  the  slave  that  he  was  to 
twist  the  bird's  neck;  which  was  done,  and  the  poltroon 
went  into  a  basket  by  himself —  he  did  not  deserve  to  be 
with  those  that  had  been  slain  in  combat. 

The  ring  was  now  covered  with  blood  and  feathers,  and 
two  slaves  came  with  buckets  of  water  and  brushes  to  clean 
it,  and  while  this  office  was  being  performed  many  fell  to 
drinking  from  flasks  which  their  slaves  handed  to  them. 
The  man  who  had  told  his  slave  to  wring  his  cock's  neck 
regretted  that  he  had  done  so.  The  merited  punishment 
would  have  been  to  hand  the  bird  over  to  a  large  ape,  that 
would  have  plucked  the  bird  feather  by  feather,  examining 
each  feather  curiously  before  selecting  the  next  one ;  and  he 
swore  a  great  oath  by  Jupiter,  and  then,  as  if  to  annoy  the 
Jews,  by  Jehovah,  that  the  next  of  his  birds  that  refused 
combat  should  be  served  this  way.  Our  master  will  not  put 
us  on  the  cross  for  so  misjudging  a  bird's  courage,  Joseph 
heard  the  Heeler  say;  and  Lydia  sidled  up  against  Joseph, 
and  it  was  her  thigh  as  much  as  the  memory  of  the  oaths 
he  had  heard  uttered  and  that  were  being  uttered  and  that 
would  be  uttered  again  as  soon  as  the  fighting  commenced 
that  set  him  thinking  of  Azariah  scanning  the  tally  on  the  wall 
—  vowing  that  he  would  teach  him  no  more ;  but  the  tally, 
which  Joseph  knew  well,  showed  that  he  had  not  missed  an 


44  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

hour  for  many  months.  But  a  whole  day's  absence  was  some- 
thing more  than  any  truancy  he  had  ever  indulged  in  before, 
and  the  only  reason  he  could  give  for  it  would  be  the  inac- 
ceptable  one  that  the  cockers  had  bidden  a  demon  take 
possession  of  him. 

Another  pair  of  cocks  was  already  in  the  ring :  two  young 
birds  trained  to  the  finest  distinction,  and  they  sparred  so 
lustily  that  even  the  experts  could  not  predict  the  victor. 
But  there  was  no  heart  in  Joseph  for  more  cock-fighting, 
and  he  viewed  with  disgust  the  mean  vile  faces  that  leered 
at  him  while  he  thanked  them  for  the  occasion  which  he  owed 
them  of  overlooking  so  much  fine  sport.  But  they  were 
a  scurvy  lot,  viler  than  he  had  supposed,  though  he  had 
suspected  from  the  first  that  they  were  nurturing  some  trick 
against  him.  And  he  searched  himself,  for  he  would  willingly 
give  them  money  to  be  rid  of  them.  But  how  much  will 
they  accept  ?  he  asked  himself,  as  he  searched  his  pockets 
...  his  money  was  gone !  Stolen,  no  doubt,  but  by  whom  ? 
By  the  cockers  standing  around  him,  quarrelling  and  railing 
at  each  other,  levelling  accusations  right  and  left  —  the 
Heeler  wrangling  with  Lydia,  saying  it  was  she  that  had 
asked  the  young  penniless  to  come  with  them.  A  mercy 
it  was  that  he  didn't  call  me  a  ragamuffin,  Joseph  said  to 
himself.  He  was  not  without  some  apprehension  that  they 
might  detain  him  till  a  ransom  was  paid,  and  right  glad 
to  perceive  himself  free  to  go  :  having  gotten  his  money  they 
wished  to  be  rid  of  him  quietly ;  and  he  too,  wishing  to  avoid 
attracting  attention,  slunk  out  of  Tiberias  without  laying 
complaint  before  the  magistrate. 

It  was  unlikely  that  his  money  would  be  found  upon  the 
thieves  and  his  father  would  be  very  angry  indeed  if  he  were 
obliged  to  go  to  Tiberias  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  his 

story  that  his  son,  while  on  his  way  to  his  tutor's 

Joseph  stopped  to  consider  the  eventualities,  and  he  heard 
in  imagination  the  tale  unfolding.    Azariah  might  be  called ! 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  45 

And  if  he  were,  he  would  tell  he  had  been  kept  waiting  all 
day,  and  the  jealous  neighbours  would  be  glad  to  send  round 
to  commiserate  with  his  father.  It  seemed  to  Joseph  that  he 
had  escaped  lightly  with  the  loss  of  a  few  shekels.  But 
what  reason  should  he  give  for  coming  home  so  late  ?  He'd 
have  to  say  where  he  had  spent  the  day.  Azariah  would  tell 
of  his  absence  from^  his  lessons.  Ah,  if  he  had  foreseen  all 
these  worries,  he  wouldn't  have  gone  to  Tiberias.  .  .  .  Should 
he  say  he  had  been  out  fishing  on  the  lake  ?  The  fishers 
would  not  betray  him,  but  they  might;  and  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  tell  his  father  a  lie.  So  did  he  argue  with 
himself  as  he  walked,  saying  that  he  had  not  done  worse  than 

But  what  had  happened  at  home  ?     Something  must 

have  happened,  for  the  gates  were  open.  The  gate-keeper, 
where  was  he  ?  And  his  wonder  increased  as  he  reached 
the  house,  for  all  the  servants  seemed  to  be  running  to  and 
fro.  The  Lord  be  praised  for  sending  you  back  to  us !  they 
exclaimed.  You  thought  then  that  the  Lord  had  taken  me 
from  you  ?  Joseph  asked,  and  the  man  replied  that  they  had 
been  searching  for  him  all  day  —  sending  messengers  hither 
and  thither,  and  that  in  the  afternoon  a  boat  had  hoisted  sail 
and  put  out  for  the  fishing  fleet,  thinking  that  Simon  Peter 
might  be  able  to  give  tidings  of  Master  Joseph.  But  why 
all  this  fuss  ?  Joseph  said,  because  I  come  home  a  little  later 
than  usual.     Your  father,  Master  Joseph,  is  beside  himself, 

and  your  grandmother Joseph  left  the  man  with  the 

end  of  the  sentence  on  his  tongue. 

So  thou'st  returned  at  last !  his  father  cried  on  seeing 
him,  and  began  at  once  to  tell  the  anxiety  he  had  suffered. 
Nor  was  Rachel  without  her  word,  and  between  their  re- 
proofs it  was  some  time  before  Joseph  began  to  apprehend 
the  cause  of  the  tumult :  Azariah  had  laid  a  long  complaint 
of  truancy !  As  to  that,  Joseph  answered  tartly,  he  has  little 
to  complain  of.  And  he  spoke  of  the  pact  between  them, 
relating  that  seven  or  eight  months  before  he  had  promised 


46  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Azariah  not  to  be  past  his  time  by  five  minutes.  Look  to 
his  tally,  Father:  it  will  tell  that  I  have  kept  my  word  for 
eight  months  and  more  and  would  have  kept  it  for  the  year 

if Be  mindful  of  what  he  is  saying  to  thee,  Dan.     Look 

well  to  the  tally  before  condemning,  Rachel  cried.  Wouldst 
have  it  then,  woman,  Azariah  lied  to  me  ?  Not  lied,  but 
was  carried  beyond  himself  in  a  great  heat  of  passion  at  being 
kept  waiting,  Rachel  answered.  He  said  that  he  enjoyed 
teaching  thee,  Joseph,  God  having  granted  thee  a  good 
intelligence  and  ways  of  comprehension.  But  he  couldn't 
abide  seeing  thee  waste  thy  time  and  his.  We're  willing 
and  ready  to  hear  about  this  absence  and  the  cause  of  it, 
Dan  interposed.  So  get  on  with  the  story :  where  hast 
thou  been  ?     Out  with  it,  boy.     Where  hast  thou  been  ? 

The  bare  question  could  only  be  met  by  the  bare  answer : 
watching  a  cock-fight  in  Tiberias;  and  to  save  his  parents 
from  much  misunderstanding,  he  said  he  must  begin  at  the 
beginning.  Dan  would  have  liked  a  straight  answer,  but 
Rachel  said  the  boy  should  be  suffered  to  tell  his  story  his 
own  way ;  and  Joseph  told  a  fine  tale,  the  purport  of  which 
was  that  he  had  sought  for  a  by-way  to  Tiberias,  the  large 
lanes  being  beset  by  acrobats,  zanies,  circus  riders  and  the 
like,  and  had  found  one  through  Argob  orchard  and  had 
followed  it  daily  without  meeting  anyone  for  many  months, 
but  this  morning  as  he  came  through  the  trees  he  had  caught 
sight  of  an  encampment ;  some  cockers  on  their  way  to  Tibe- 
rias, where  a  great  main  was  to  be  fought.     And  it  was  the 

cocks  of  Pamphylia  that  had He  stopped,  for  the  great 

change  that  had  come  over  his  parents'  faces  set  him  wonder- 
ing if  his  conduct  was  as  shameful  as  their  faces  seemed  to 
affirm.  He  could  not  see  that  he  had  sinned  against  the  law 
by  going  to  Tiberias,  though  he  had  associated  himself  with 
Gentiles  and  for  a  whole  day  ...  he  had  eaten  in  their 
company,  but  not  of  any  forbidden  meat.  And  while 
Joseph  sought  to  mitigate  his  offence  to  himself,  his  father 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  47 

sat  immersed  in  woe,  his  head  in  his  hands.  What  calamity, 
he  cried,  has  fallen  on  my  house,  and  how  have  I  sinned,  O 
Lord,  that  punishment  should  fall  upon  me,  and  that  my  own 
son  should  be  chosen  to  mete  out  my  punishment  ?  My 
house  is  riven  from  rafter  to  foundation  stone.     But,  father, 

at  most It  seemed  useless  to  plead.     He  stood  apart ; 

his  grandmother  stood  silent  and  grave,  not  understanding 
fully,  and  Joseph  foresaw  that  he  could  not  count  upon  her 
to  side  with  him  against  his  father.  But  if  his  father  would 
only  tell  him  if  he  had  sinned  against  the  law,  instead  of 
rending  his  garments,  he  would  do  all  the  law  commanded 
to  obtain  forgiveness.  Was  there,  he  asked,  anything  in  the 
law  against  cock-fighting  ?  or  in  the  traditions  ?  It  was  a 
pastime  of  the  heathen  :  he  knew  that,  and  had  hoped  a  day 
of  fasting  might  be  suggested  to  him,  but  if  this  offence 
was  more  serious  than  he  had  supposed  he  besought  his 
father  to  say  so.  Tell  me.  Father,  have  I  sinned  against 
the  law  ? 

The  question  seemed  to  exasperate  his  father,  who  at  last 
cried  out :  of  what  value  may  be  thy  Hebrew  studies  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  language,  if  the  law  be  not  studied  with 
Azariah  ?  Does  not  the  Book  of  Leviticus  ever  lie  open  be- 
fore thee  ?  How  has  the  law  been  affronted  ?  The  law 
given  by  the  Lord  unto  Moses.  My  own  son  asks  me  this. 
"And  if  a  soul  sin  and  hear  the  voice  swearing  and  is  a  witness 
whether  he  has  sinned  or  known  of  it,  if  he  did  not  utter  it, 
then  he  shall  bear  his  iniquity."  Was  there  no  swearing  at 
thy  cock-fight .''  Plenty,  I  reckon.  All  day  was  spent 
listening  to  swearing,  hearing  the  name  of  the  Lord  taken  in 
vain  :  a  name  we  don't  dare  to  pronounce  ourselves.  Joseph 
sat  dumfounded.  So  Azariah  never  taught  thee  the  law  ? 
All  the  time  goes  by  wasted  in  the  reading  of  Greek  plays. 
We  read  Hebrew  and  speak  it,  Joseph  answered,  and  it  was 
your  wish  that  I  should  learn  Greek.  And,  Father,  is  there 
any  reason  to  worry  over  a  loss  of  repute  ?     For  my  sin  will 


48  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

be  known  to  nobody  but  God,  unless  told  by  thee,  and  thou'lt 
keep  it  secret.  Or  told  by  Azariah,  Dan  answered  moodily, 
who  never  teaches  the  law,  but  likes  Greek  plays  better. 
Well,  thou  shalt  hear  the  law  from  me  to-night,  for  I  can 
read  Hebrew,  not,  belike,  as  well  as  Azariah,  but  I  can  read 
Hebrew  all  the  same.  Mother,  hand  me  down  the  Scrip- 
tures from  the  shelf. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WELL,  Dan,  thou  must  make  up  your  mind  whether 
thou'rt  going  to  look  out  for  one  who  [will  teach  him  better, 
or  let  him  remain  with  Azariah,  who  likes  teaching  him,  for 
he  is  a  clever  but  ofttimes  an  idle  boy.  I  don't  know  that 
I  should  have  said  idle,  she  added,  and  sat  thinking  of  what 
word  would  describe  Joseph's  truancy  better  than  idle,  with- 
out, however,  finding  the  word  she  needed,  and  her  thoughts 
floated  away  into  a  long  consideration  of  her  son's  anger, 
for  she  could  see  he  was  angry  with  Azariah.  But  the 
cause  of  his  anger  she  could  not  discover.  It  could  not  be 
that  he  was  annoyed  with  Azariah  for  coming  to  complain 
that  he  was  often  kept  waiting :  and  it  was  on  her  tongue 
to  ask  him  why  he  was  so  gloomy,  why  he  knitted  his  brows 
and  bit  his  lips.  But  she  held  back  the  question,  for  it  would 
not  be  long  before  Dan  would  let  out  his  secret :  he  could 
not  keep  one.  And  Dan,  knowing  well  his  own  weakness 
and  his  mother's  shrewdness  (she  would  soon  be  guessing 
what  was  passing  in  his  mind),  began  to  animadvert  on 
Azariah  for  his  residence  in  Tiberias,  a  pagan  city  —  his 
plan  for  leading  her  on  a  false  trail.  Others,  he  said,  spoke 
more  unfavourably  than  he  did ;  and  he  continued  in  this 
strain  until  Rachel,  losing  patience,  interrupted  him  sud- 
denly saying  that  Azariah  did  not  live  in  Tiberias.  If  not 
in  Tiberias,  he  answered,  in  a  suburb,  and  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  city  walls.  But  what  has  that  got  to  do  with 
Joseph  ?  Rachel  asked.  What  has  it  got  to  do  with  Joseph  ! 
Dan  growled,  when  to  reach  the  Scribe's  house  he  has  to  pass 
through  lanes  infested  with  the  offscourings  of  the  pagan 
B  49 


so  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

world :  mummers,  zanies,  jugglers,  dancers,  whores  from 
Babylon.  Did  ye  not  hear  him,  woman,  describe  these 
lanes,  saying  that  he  had  to  change  his  course  three  times  so 
that  he  might  keep  his  promise  to  Azariah,  and  are  ye  not 
mindful  that  he  told  me,  and  thou  sitting  there  listening  on 
that  very  stool,  that  the  showmen  he  met  in  Argob  orchard 
put  a  spell  upon  him,  and  that  it  was  the  demon  that  had 
obtained  temporary  lodgment  in  him  that  had  bidden  him 
to  Tiberias  to  see  the  cock-fight :  Jews  from  Alexandria, 
heretics,  adventurers,  beggars,  aliens !  Look  ye  here,  Dan, 
Rachel  said,  he  is  a  proud  boy  and  may  thank  thee  little  for 

There  are  others  to  teach  him,  Dan  interrupted,  and 

continued  to  walk  up  and  down  the  room,  for  he  wished  to 
make  an  end  of  this  talk  with  his  mother.  But  he  hadn't 
crossed  the  room  twice  when  he  was  brought  to  a  full  stop, 
having  remembered  suddenly  that  it  is  always  by  such  acts 
as  he  was  now  meditating  that  fathers  lose  the  affections  of 
their  sons.  If  he  were  to  drag  Joseph  away  from  Azariah, 
from  whom  he  was  learning  Hebrew  and  Greek,  Joseph  might 
begin  to  look  upon  him  as  a  tyrant.  His  mother  was  a  sharp- 
witted  woman,  and  very  little  was  needed  to  set  her  thinking. 
She  had  an  irritating  way  of  looking  as  it  were  into  his  mind, 
and  if  she  were  to  suspect  him  of  jealousy  of  Azariah  he  would 
never  have  a  moment's  peace  again. 

But  what  in  the  world  may  we  understand  from  all  this 
bear-dancing  up  and  down  the  room  ?  asked  Rachel.  Ye 
must  know  if  ye  are  going  to  withdraw  the  boy  from  his 
schooling. 

Dan  cast  an  angry  glance  at  his  mother  and  hated  her; 
and  then  his  heart  misgave  him,  for  he  knew  that  he  lacked 
courage  to  take  Joseph  out  of  his  present  schooling,  and 
dared  not  divide  his  house  against  himself,  or  do  anything 
that  might  lose  him  his  son's  love  and  little  by  little  cause 
himself  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  tyrant.  He  knew  himself 
to  be  a  weak  man,  except  in  the  counting-house ;  he  knew  it. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  51 

and  must  stifle  his  jealousy  of  Azariah,  who  had  forgiven 
Joseph  his  truancy  and  was  the  only  one  that  knew  of  the 
excursion  into  Tiberias.  But  Azariah's  indulgence  did  not 
altogether  please  him.  He  began  to  suspect  it  and  to  doubt 
if  he  had  acted  wisely  in  not  ordering  Joseph  away  from 
Azariah  :  for  Azariah  was  robbing  him,  robbing  him  of  all 
that  he  valued  in  this  world,  his  son  !  And  it  seemed  to 
him  a  little  later  in  the  day,  as  he  closed  his  ledger,  that  he 
had  come  to  be  disregarded  in  his  own  house ;  and  he  thought 
he  would  have  liked  much  better  to  stay  away,  to  dine  in 
the  counting-house,  urging  a  press  of  business.  The  first 
thing  he  would  hear  would  be  "Azariah."  The  hated  name 
was  never  off"  the  boy's  lips  :  he  talked  of  nothing  else  but 
Azariah  and  Hebrew  and  Greek  and  the  learned  Jews  whom 
he  met  at  Azariah's  house. 

Dan  sat  looking  into  the  dusk  asking  himself  if  his  bargain 
were  not  that  his  son  should  learn  the  Greek  language  but 
not  Greek  literature,  which  is  full  of  heresy,  he  said  to  him- 
self; and  he  returned  home  determined  to  raise  the  point; 
but  Joseph  told  him,  and  he  thought  rather  abruptly, 
that  it  was  only  through  Greek  literature  that  one  could 
learn  Greek  in  Tiberias  —  the  spoken  language  was  a 
dialect. 

It  may  have  been  that  Joseph  perceived  that  praise  of 
Azariah  caused  his  father  to  writhe  a  little,  and  —  curious 
to  observe  the  effect  —  he  spoke  more  of  Azariah  than  he 
would  have  done  otherwise,  and  laid  an  accent  on  his  master's 
learning,  and  related  incidents  in  which  his  master  appeared 
to  great  advantage,  causing  his  father  much  perplexity  and 
pain  of  mind,  till  at  last,  unable  to  bear  the  torture  any 
longer,  he  said  —  the  words  slipped  from  him  incontinently 
—  Thou'rt  no  better  than  a  little  Azariah !  and,  unable  to 
contain  himself,  he  rushed  from  the  room,  leaving  Joseph 
and  Rachel  to  discuss  his  vehemence  and  discover  motives 
which  he  hoped  would  not  include  the  right  one.     But  afraid 


52  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

that  he  had  betrayed  his  jealousy  of  Azariah  he  returned, 
and  to  mislead  his  mother  and  son  he  began  to  speak  of  the 
duty  of  the  pupil  to  the  master,  telling  Joseph  he  must 
submit  himself  to  Azariah  in  everything :  by  representing 
Azariah  as  one  in  full  authority  he  hoped  to  overcome  his 
influence,  and  before  many  months  had  passed  over  a  dif- 
ferent accent  was  notable  in  Joseph's  voice  when  he  spoke 
of  Azariah ;  but  he  continued  with  him  for  two  more  years. 
And  it  was  then  that  Dan  set  himself  to  devise  plans  to  end 
his  son's  studies  in  Hebrew  and  Greek. 

Joseph  knows  now  all  that  Azariah  can  teach  him,  g,nd  it 
is  high  time  that  I  took  him  in  hand  and  taught  him  his 
trade.  But  though  determined  to  rid  himself  of  Azariah  he 
felt  he  must  proceed  gently  (if  possible,  in  conjunction  with 
his  mother) ;  he  must  wait  for  an  occasion ;  and  while  he 
was  watching  for  one  it  fell  out  that  Joseph  wearied  of 
Azariah  and  went  to  his  father  saying  that  he  had  learnt 
Hebrew  and  could  speak  Greek,  so  there  was  no  use  in  his 
returning  to  Azariah  any  more.  At  first  his  parents  could 
only  think  that  he  had  quarrelled  with  Azariah,  but  it  was 
not  so,  they  soon  discovered  that  he  had  merely  become 
tired  of  him  —  a  change  that  betokened  a  capricious  mind. 
A  growing  boy  is  full  of  fancies,  Rachel  said  :  an  explanation 
that  Dan  deemed  sufficient,  and  he  was  careful  not  to  speak 
against  Azariah  lest  he  should  turn  his  son's  thoughts  back 
on  Greek  literature,  or  Greek  philosophy,  which  is  more 
pernicious  even  than  the  literature.  He  did  not  dare  to 
ask  Joseph  to  come  down  to  the  counting-house,  afraid  lest 
by  trying  to  influence  him  in  one  direction  he  might  influence 
him  in  the  opposite  direction.  He  deemed  it  better  to  leave 
everything  to  fate,  and  while  putting  his  trust  in  God  Dan 
applied  himself  to  meditate  on  the  young  man's  character 
and  his  tastes,  which  seemed  to  have  taken  a  sudden  turn ; 
for,  to  his  father's  surprise,  Joseph  had  begun  to  put  ques- 
tions to  him  about  the  sale  of  fish,  and  to  speak  of  visiting 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  53 

Tyre  and  Sidon  with  a  view  to  establishing  branch  houses  — 
extensions  of  their  business.  His  father,  while  approving 
of  this  plan,  pointed  out  that  Tyre  and  Sidon  being  them- 
selves on  the  coast  of  the  sea  could  never  be  as  good  cus- 
tomers as  inland  cities,  sea  fish  being  considered,  he  thought 
mistakenly,  preferable  to  lake.  He  had  been  doing,  it  is 
true,  a  fair  trade  with  Damascus,  but  whereas  it  was  im- 
possible to  reckon  on  Damascus  it  seemed  to  him  that  their 
industry  might  be  extended  in  many  other  directions.  And 
delighted  with  the  change  that  had  come  over  his  son  he 
said  that  he  would  have  tried  long  ago  to  extend  his  business, 
if  he  had  had  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language. 

He  spoke  of  Heliopolis,  and  proposed  to  Joseph  that  he 
should  go  there  and  establish  a  mart  for  salt  fish  as  soon  as 
he  had  mastered  all  the  details  of  the  trade,  which  would  be 
soon  :  a  very  little  application  in  the  counting-house  would 
be  enough  for  a  clever  fellow  like  Joseph. 

As  he  said  these  words  his  eyes  met  Rachel's,  and  as  soon 
as  Joseph  left  the  room  she  asked  him  if  he  believed  that 
Joseph  would  settle  down  to  the  selling  of  salt  fish  :  a  ques- 
tion which  was  not  agreeable  to  Dan,  who  was  at  that  mo- 
ment settling  himself  into  the  conviction  that  Joseph  had 
begun  to  evince  an  aptitude  for  trade  that  he  himself  did 
not  acquire  till  many  years  older,  causing  him  to  flame  up 
as  might  be  expected  against  his  mother,  telling  her  that  her 
remarks  were  most  mischievous,  whether  she  meant  them  or 
not.  He  hoped  Joseph  was  not  the  young  man  that  she  saw 
in  him.  Before  he  could  say  any  more  Joseph  returned,  and 
linked  his  arm  into  his  father's,  and  the  twain  went  away 
together  to  the  counting-house,  Dan  enamoured  of  his  son 
but  just  a  little  afraid  all  the  same  that  Joseph  might  weary 
of  trade  in  the  end,  just  as  he  had  wearied  of  learning.  He 
was  moved  to  speak  his  fear  to  Joseph,  but  on  consideration 
he  resolved  that  no  good  could  come  of  such  confidences, 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  first  day  in  the  counting-house  he 


54  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

whispered  to  Rachel  that  Joseph  had  taken  to  trade  as  a 
duck  to  the  water,  as  the  saying  is. 

Day  after  day  he  watched  his  son's  progress  in  adminis- 
tration, saying  nothing,  waiting  for  the  head  clerk  to  endorse 
his  opinion  that  there  were  the  makings  of  a  first-rate  man 
in  Joseph.  He  was  careful  not  to  ask  any  leading  questions, 
but  he  could  not  refrain  from  letting  the  conversation  drop, 
so. that  the  clerk  might  have  an  opportunity  of  expressing 
his  opinion  of  Master  Joseph's  business  capacities.  But  the 
clerk  made  no  remark :  it  might  as  well  have  been  that 
Joseph  was  not  in  the  counting-house;  Dan  had  begun  to 
hate  his  clerk,  who  had  been  with  him  for  thirty  years. 
He  had  brought  him  from  Arimathea  and  couldn't  dismiss 
him ;  he  could  only  look  into  his  eyes  appealingly.  At  last 
the  clerk  spoke,  and  his  words  were  like  manna  in  the  desert ; 
and,  overjoyed  Dan  wondered  how  it  was  that  he  could  have 
refrained  so  long.  It  was  concerning  a  certain  falling  off  in 
an  order:  if  Master  Joseph  were  to  go  on  a  circuit  through 

the  Greek  cities Dan   could   have  thrown   his  arms 

about  his  clerk  for  these  words,  but  it  were  better  to  dis- 
simulate. You  think  then  that  Joseph  understands  the 
business  sufficiently  ?  The  clerk  acquiesced,  and  it  was  a 
great  day,  of  course,  the  day  Joseph  went  forth ;  and  in  a 
few  weeks  Dan  had  proof  that  his  confidence  in  his  son's 
business  aptitudes  was  not  misplaced.  Joseph  showed  him- 
self to  be  suited  to  the  enterprise  by  his  engaging  manner 
as  well  as  by  his  knowledge  of  Hebrew  and  Greek,  the  two 
languages  procuring  him  an  admission  into  the  confidences  of 
Jew  and  Gentile  alike. 

The  length  of  these  excursions  was  from  three  to  four 
weeks,  and  when  Joseph  returned  home  for  an  interval  his 
parents  disputed  as  to  whether  he  should  spend  his  holiday 
in  the  counting-house  or  the  dwelling-house.  So  to  avoid 
giving  offence  to  either,  and  for  his  own  pleasure  Joseph 
often  spent  these  days  on  the  boats  with  the  fishers,  learning 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  55 

their  craft  from  them,  losing  himself  often  in  meditations 
how  the  draught  of  fishes  might  be  increased  by  a  superior 
kind  of  net :  interested  in  his  trade  far  too  much,  Rachel 
said.  His  mind  seemed  bent  on  it  always ;  whereas  she 
would  have  liked  to  have  heard  him  tell  of  all  the  countries 
he  had  been  to  and  of  all  the  people  he  had  seen,  but  it  was 
always  about  salt  fish  that  he  was  talking  :  how  many  barrels 
had  gone  to  this  town,  and  how  many  barrels  to  another, 
and  the  new  opening  he  had  discovered  for  salt  fish  in  a 
village  the  name  of  which  he  had  never  heard  before. 

Rachel's  patience  with  Joseph  was  long  but  at  last  she  lost 
patience  and  said  she  would  be  glad  when  the  last  barrel  of 
salt  fish  came  out  of  the  lake,  for  it  would  not  be  till  then 
that  they  would  have  time  to  live  their  lives  in  peace  and 
comfort.  She  gathered  up  her  knitting  and  was  going  to 
bed,  but  Joseph  would  not  suffer  her  to  go.  He  said  he 
had  stories  to  tell  her,  and  he  fell  to  telling  of  the  several 
preachers  he  had  heard  in  the  synagogues,  and  his  voice 
beguiled  the  evening  away  so  pleasantly  that  Rachel  let 
her  knitting  drop  into  her  lap  and  sat  looking  at  her  grand- 
son, stupefied  and  transported  with  love. 

Dan's  love  for  his  son  was  more  tender  in  these  days  than 
it  had  ever  been  before,  but  Rachel  looked  back,  thinking 
the  old  days  were  better,  when  Joseph  used  to  come  from 
Azariah's  talking  about  his  studies.  It  may  be  that  Dan, 
forgetful  of  his  jealousy,  looked  back  to  those  days  gone 
over  with  a  certain  wistfulness.  A  boy  is,  if  not  more  in- 
teresting, at  least  more  unexpected,  than  a  young  man. 
In  the  old  days  Dan  did  not  know  what  sort  of  son  God  had 
given  him,  but  now  he  knew  that  God  had  given  him  the  son 
he  always  desired,  and  that  Azariah's  tending  of  the  boy's 
character  had  been  kind,  wise  and  salutary,  as  the  flower 
and  fruit  showed.  But  in  the  deepest  peace  there  is  disquiet, 
and  in  the  relation  of  his  adventures  Joseph  had  begun  to 
display    interest    in    various    interpretations    of    Scripture 


56  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

which  he  had  heard  in  the  synagogues  —  true  that  he  laughed 
at  these,  but  he  had  met  learned  heretics  from  Alexandria  in 
Azariah's  house.  Dan  often  wondered  if  these  had  not  tried 
to  impregnate  his  mind  with  their  religious  theories  and 
doctrines,  for  being  without  religious  interests,  Dan  was 
strictly  orthodox. 

He  did  not  suspect  Azariah,  whom  he  knew  to  be  withal 
orthodox,  as  much  as  Azariah's  friend,  Apollonius,  the 
Alexandrian  Jew.  But  though  he  kept  his  ears  open  for 
the  slightest  word  he  could  not  discover  any  trace  of  his 
influence.  If  his  discourse  had  had  any  effect,  it  was  to 
make  Joseph  more  than  ever  a  Pharisee.  He  was  some- 
times even  inclined  to  think  that  Joseph  was  a  little  too 
particular,  laying  too  much  stress  upon  the  practice  of 
minute  observances,  and  he  began  to  apprehend  that  there 
was  something  of  the  Scribe  in  Joseph  after  all.  The  sig- 
nificance of  his  mother's  words  becoming  suddenly  clear  to 
Dan,  he  asked  himself  if  it  were  not  yet  within  the  width  of 
a  finger  that  Joseph  would  tire  of  trade  and  retire  to  Jerusa- 
lem and  expound  the  law  and  the  traditions  in  the  Temple. 
His  vocation,  Dan  was  of  opinion,  could  not  yet  be  pre- 
dicted with  any  certainty  :  he  might  go  either  way  —  to  trade 
or  to  religious  learning  —  and  in  the  midst  of  these  medita- 
tions on  his  son's  character  Dan  remembered  that  some 
friends  had  come  to  see  Joseph  at  the  counting-house  yester- 
day. Joseph  had  taken  them  out  into  the  yard  and  they 
had  talked  together,  but  it  was  not  of  the  export  of  salt  fish 
they  had  spoken,  but  of  the  observances  of  the  Sabbath. 
Dan  had  listened,  pen  in  hand,  his  thoughts  suspended,  and 
had  heard  them  devote  many  minutes  to  the  question 
whether  a  man  should  dip  himself  in  the  nearest  brook  if 
he  had  accidentally  touched  a  pig.  He  had  heard  them 
discuss  at  length  the  grace  that  should  be  used  before  eating 
fruit  from  a  tree,  and  whether  it  were  necessary  to  say  three 
graces  after  eating  three  kinds  of  fruit  at  one  meal.     He 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  57 

had  heard  one  ask  if  a  sheep  that  had  been  killed  with  a 
Greek  knife  could  be  eaten,  and  he  had  heard  Joseph  ask 
him  if  he  knew  the  sheep  had  been  killed  with  a  Greek  knife 
and  the  man  confessed  that  he  had  not  made  inquiry.     If  he 

had  known 

Dan  did  not  hear  the  end  of  the  sentence,  but  imagined 
that  it  ended  in  a  gesture  of  abhorrence.     In  his  day  religion 
was  limited  to  the  law  of  Moses,  a  skein  well  combed  out, 
but  the  Scribes  in  Jerusalem  had  knotted  and  twisted  the 
skein.     He  had  heard  Joseph  maintain,  and  stiffly  too,  that 
an  egg  laid  on  the  day  after  the  Sabbath  could  not  be  eaten, 
because  it  had  been  prepared  by  the  hen  on  the  Sabbath. 
But  one  can't  always  be  watching  hens,  he  said  to  himself, 
and  the  discussion  of  such  points  seeming  to  him  unmanly, 
he  drew  back  the  window-curtain  and  fell  into  admiration 
of  his   son's   slim   loins   and   great   shoulders.     Joseph   was 
laughing  with  his  companions  at  that  moment  and  his  teeth 
glistened,  every  one  white  and  shapely.     Why  do  such  dis- 
cussions interest  him  .?  Dan  asked,  for  his  eyes  are  soft  as 
flowers;  and  he  envied  the  woman  that  Joseph  would  cross 
over  in  the  night.     But  very  often  men  like  Joseph  did  not 
marry,  and  a  new  disquietude  arose  in  his  mind  :  he  wanted 
children,    grandchildren.     In    a    few    years    Joseph    should 
begin  to  look  round.  .  .  .     Meanwhile  it  might  be  well  to 
tell  him  that  men  like  Hillel  had  always  held  that  it  is  after 
the  spirit  rather  than  the  letter  we  should  strive,  and  that  in 
running  after  the  latter  we  are  apt  to  lose  the  former,  and  he 
accepted   the   first   opportunity   to   admonish   Joseph,   who 
listened   in   amazement,   wondering  what  had   befallen   his 
father,  whom  he  had  never  heard  speak  like  this  before.     All 
the  same  he  hearkened  to  these  warnings  and  laid  them  in 
his  memory,  and  fell  to  considering  his  father  as  one  who  had 
just  jogged  along  the  road  that  he  and  his  ancestors  had 
come  by,  without  much  question.     But  if  his  father  had  set 
himself  to  consider  religions,  and  with  that  seriousness  they 


58  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

deserved,  he  would  not  keep  back  any  longer  the  matter  on 
which  he  had  long  desired  to  speak  to  him. 

The  young  men  to  whom  he  had  just  bidden  good-bye  were  all 
going  to  Jerusalem,  whither  Dan  was  accustomed  to  go  every 
year  for  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  but  last  year  the  journey 
thither  had  fatigued  him  unduly,  and  it  seemed  to  Joseph  that 
this  year  he  should  go  to  Jerusalem  in  his  father's  place ;  and 
when  he  broached  the  subject,  Dan,  who  had  been  thinking  for 
some  time  that  he  was  not  feeling  strong  enough  for  this  journey, 
welcomed  Joseph's  proposal — a  most  proper  presence  Joseph's 
would  be  at  the  Feast,  Joseph  had  come  to  the  age  when  he 
should  visit  Jerusalem,  but  he  did  not  readily  understand  this 
sudden  enthusiasm.  If  he  wanted  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to  the 
Feast  of  the  Passover,  why  had  he  not  said  so  before  ?  And 
Dan,  whose  thoughts  reached  back  to  the  discussion  overheard 
in  the  yard,  was  compelled  to  ask  Joseph  if  it  were  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  the  value  of  certain  minute  points  of  law  that 
he  wished  to  go  to  Jerusalem.  At  which  Joseph  was  astonished 
that  his  father  should  have  asked  him  such  a  thing.  .  .  .  Yet 
why  not  ?  For  a  while  back  he  was  discussing  such  very 
points  with  some  young  gossips.  His  tongue  wagged  as  was 
its  wont  on  all  occasions,  though  his  mind  was  away  and 
he  suddenly  stopped  speaking ;  and  when  the  stirring  of  his 
father's  feet  on  the  floor  awakened  him,  he  saw  his  father 
sitting  pen  in  hand  watching  him  and  no  doubt  asking  him- 
self of  what  great  and  wonderful  thing  his  son  was  thinking. 

Once  again  actuality  disappeared.  He  stood  engulfed 
in  memories  of  things  heard  in  Azariah's  house :  or  things 
only  half  heard,  for  he  had  never  thought  of  them  since. 
The  words  of  the  Jews  he  met  there  had  fallen  dead  at  the 
time,  but  now  he  remembered  things  that  had  passed  over 
his  mind.  The  heresies  of  the  Jews  in  Alexandria  awoke  in 
him,  and  a  marvellous  longing  awoke  to  see  the  world.  First 
of  all  he  must  begin  with  Jerusalem,  and  he  bade  his  father 
good-bye  with  an  eagerness  not  too  pleasant  to  the  old  man. 


CHAPTER  V 

GONE  to  the  study  of  the  law !  Dan  said,  as  he  walked 
up  and  down  the  room,  glancing  often  into  Joseph's  letter, 
for  it  figured  to  him  the  Temple  with  the  Scribes  meditating 
on  the  law,  or  discussing  it  with  each  other  while  their  wives 
remained  at  home  doing  the  work.  So  do  their  lives  pass 
over,  he  said,  in  the  study  of  the  law.  Nothing  else  is  to 
them  of  any  worth.  .  .  .  My  poor  boy  hopes  that  I  shall 
forgive  him  for  not  returning  home  after  the  Feast  of  the 
Passover!  Does  he  suspect  that  I  would  prefer  him  in- 
different to  the  law  in  Magdala,  rather  then  immersed  in 
it  at  Jerusalem  ?  A  little  surprised  and  shocked  at  the 
licentiousness  of  his  thoughts,  he  drew  them  into  order  with 
the  admission  that  it  is  better  in  every  way  that  a  young  man 
should  go  to  Jerusalem  early  in  his  life  and  acquire  rever- 
ence for  the  ritual  and  traditions  of  his  race,  else  he  will 
drift  later  on  into  heresy,  or  maybe  go  to  live  in  cities  like 
Tiberias,  amongst  statues.  But  why  do  I  trouble  myself 
like  this  ?  For  there  was  a  time  before  I  had  a  son,  and  the 
time  is  getting  very  close  now  when  I  shall  lose  him.  And 
Dan  stood  swallowed  up  in  the  thought  of  the  great  gulf 
into  which  precarious  health  would  soon  pitch  him  out  of 
sight  of  Joseph  for  ever.  It  was  Rachel  coming  into  the 
room  that  awoke  him.  She  too  !  he  muttered.  He  began 
to  fuss  about,  seeking  for  writing  materials,  for  he  was  now 
intent  to  send  Joseph  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  the 
High  Priest,  having  already  forgotten  the  gulf  that  awaited 
him,  in  the  pleasurable  recollection  of  the  courtesy  and  con- 
sideration he  received  from  the  most  distinguished  men  the 

59 


6o  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

last  time  he  was  in  Jerusalem  —  from  Hanan  the  son  of 
Seth  and  father-in-law  of  Kaiaphas :  Kaiaphas  was  now 
High  Priest,  the  High  Priest  of  that  year;  but  in  truth, 
Hanan,  who  had  been  High  Priest  before  him,  retained  all 
the  power  and  importance  of  the  office  and  was  even  called 
the  High  Priest.  Dan  remembered  that  he  had  been  re- 
ceived with  all  the  homage  due  to  a  man  of  wealth.  He 
liked  his  wealth  to  be  acknowledged,  for  it  was  part  of  him- 
self: he  had  created  it;  and  it  was  with  pride  that  he  con- 
tinued his  letter  to  Hanan  recommending  his  son  to  him, 
saying  that  anything  that  was  done  to  further  Joseph's 
interests  would  be  a  greater  favour  than  any  that  could  be 
conferred  on  himself. 

The  letter  was  sent  off  by  special  messenger  and  Joseph 
was  enjoined  to  carry  it  himself  at  once  to  Hanan,  which  he 
did,  since  it  was  his  father's  pleasure  that  he  should  do  so. 
He  would  have  preferred  to  be  allowed  to  pick  his  friends 
from  among  the  people  he  met  casually,  but  since  this  was 
not  to  be  he  assumed  the  necessary  reverence  and  came  for- 
ward in  the  proper  spirit  to  meet  Hanan,  who  expressed 
himself  as  entirely  gratified  by  Joseph's  presence  in  Jerusa- 
lem, and  promised  to  support  his  election  for  the  Sanhedrin. 
But  if  the  councillors  reject  me  ?  For  you  see  I  am  still  a 
young  man.  The  innocency  of  Joseph's  remark  pleased 
Hanan,  who  smiled  over  it,  expressing  a  muttered  hope  that 
the  Sanhedrin  would  not  take  upon  itself  the  task  of  dis- 
cussing the  merits  and  qualifications  of  those  whom  he  should 
deem  worthy  to  present  for  election.  The  great  man  purred 
out  these  sentences,  Joseph's  remark  having  reminded  him 
of  his  exalted  position.  But  thinking  his  remark  had  nettled 
Hanan,  Joseph  said :  you  see  I  have  only  just  come  to 
Jerusalem ;  and  this  remark  continued  the  flattery,  and 
with  an  impulsive  movement  Hanan  took  Joseph's  hands 
and  spoke  to  him  about  his  father  in  terms  that  made  Joseph 
feel  very  proud  of  Dan,  and  also  of  being  in  Jerusalem, 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  6i 

which  had  already  begun  to  seem  to  him  more  wonderful 
than  he  had  imagined  it  to  be :  and  he  had  imagined  it  very 
wonderful  indeed.  But  there  was  a  certain  native  shrewd- 
ness in  Joseph ;  and  after  leaving  the  High  Priest's  place 
he  had  not  taken  many  steps  before  he  began  to  see  through 
Hanan's  plans :  which  no  doubt  are  laid  with  the  view  to 
impress  me  with  the  magnificence  of  Jerusalem  and  its 
priesthood.  He  walked  a  few  yards  farther,  and  remembered 
that  there  are  always  dissensions  among  the  Jews,  and  that 
the  son  of  a  rich  man  (one  of  first-rate  importance  in  Galilee) 
would  be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  priestly  caste. 

But  though  he  saw  through  Hanan's  designs,  he  was  still 
the  dupe  of  Hanan,  who  was  a  clever  man  and  a  learned  man  ; 
his  importance  loomed  up  very  large,  and  Joseph  could  not 
be  without  a  hero,  true  or  false ;  so  it  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  that  Hanan  and  Kaiaphas  and  the  Sadducees,  whom 
Joseph  met  in  the  Sanhedrin  and  whose  houses  he  frequented, 
commanded  his  admiration  for  several  months  and  would 
have  held  it  for  many  months  more,  had  it  not  been  that  he 
happened  to  be  a  genuinely  religious  man,  concerned  much 
more  with  an  intimate  sense  of  God  than  with  the  slaying  of 
bullocks  and  rams. 

He  had  accepted  the  sacrifices  as  part  of  a  ritual  which 
should  not  be  questioned  and  which  he  had  never  questioned  : 
yet,  without  discussion,  without  argument,  they  fell  in  his 
estimation  without  pain,  as  naturally  as  a  leaf  falls.  A 
friend  quoted  to  him  a  certain  well-known  passage  in  Isaiah, 
and  not  the  whole  of  it :  only  a  few  words ;  and  from  that 
moment  the  Temple,  the  priests  and  the  sacrifices  became 
every  day  more  distasteful  to  him  than  they  were  the  day 
before,  setting  him  pondering  on  the  mind  of  the  man  who 
lives  upon  religion  while  laughing  in  his  beard  at  his  dupe; 
he  contrasted  him  with  the  fellow  that  drives  in  his  beast 
for  slaughter  and  pays  his  yearly  dole ;  he  remembered  how 
he  loved  the  prophets  instinctively  though  the  priests  always 


62  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

seemed  a  little  alien,  even  before  he  knew  them.  Yet  he 
never  imagined  them  to  be  as  far  from  true  religion  (which 
is  the  love  of  God)  as  h^  found  them ;  for  they  did  not  try 
to  conceal  their  scepticism  from  him :  knowing  him  to  be  a 
friend  of  the  High  Priest,  it  had  seemed  to  them  that  they 
might  indulge  their  wit  as  they  pleased,  and  once  he  had 
even  to  reprove  some  priests,  so  blasphemous  did  their  jests 
appear  to  him.  An  unusually  fat  bullock  caused  them  to 
speak  of  the  fine  regalement  he  would  be  to  Jahveh's  nose, 
and  one  sacristan,  mentioning  the  sacred  name,  figured 
Jahveh  as  pressing  forward  with  dilated  nostrils.  There  is 
no  belly  in  heaven,  he  said  :  its  joys  are  entirely  olfactory, 
and  when  this  beast  is  smoking,  Jahveh  will  call  down  the 
angels  Michael  and  Gabriel.  As  if  not  satisfied  with  this 
blasphemy,  as  if  it  were  not  enough,  he  turned  to  the  sac- 
ristans by  him,  to  ask  them  if  they  could  not  hear  the  angels 
sniffing  as  they  leaned  forward  out  of  their  clouds.  My 
priests  are  doing  splendidly  :  the  fat  of  this  beast  is  delicious 
in  our  nostrils;  were  the  words  he  attributed  to  Jahveh. 
Michael  and  Gabriel,  he  said,  would  reply :  It  is  indeed 
as  thou  sayest.  Sire ! 

Joseph  marvelled  that  priests  could  speak  like  this,  and 
tried  to  forget  the  vile  things  they  said,  but  they  were 
unforgettable :  he  treasured  them  in  his  heart,  for  he  could 
not  do  else,  and  when  he  did  speak,  it  was  at  first  cautiously, 
though  there  was  little  need  for  caution ;  for  he  found  to  his 
surprise  that  everybody  knew  that  the  Sadducees  did  not 
believe  in  a  future  life  and  very  little  in  the  dogma  that  the 
Jews  were  the  sect  chosen  by  God,  Jahveh.  He  was  their  God 
and  had  upheld  the  Jewish  race,  but  for  all  practical  purposes 
it  was  better  to  put  their  faith  henceforth  in  the  Romans, 
who  would  defend  Jerusalem  against  all  barbarians.  It  was 
necessary  to  observe  the  Sabbath  and  to  preach  its  observ- 
ances and  to  punish  those  who  violated  it,  for  on  the 
Sabbath  rested  the  entire  superstructure  of  the  Temple  itself, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  63 

and  all  belief  might  topple  if  the  Sabbath  was  not  main- 
tained, and  rigorously.  In  the  houses  of  the  Sadducees 
Joseph  heard  these  very  words,  and  their  crude  scepticism 
revolted  his  tender  soul :  he  was  drawn  back  to  his  own  sect, 
the  Pharisees,  for  however  narrow-minded  and  fanatical  they 
might  be  he  could  not  deny  to  them  the  virtue  of  sincerity. 
It  was  with  a  delightful  sense  of  community  of  spirit  that  he 
returned  to  them,  and  in  the  conviction  that  it  would  be  well 
to  let  pass  without  protest  the  observances  which  himself 
long  ago  in  Galilee  began  to  look  upon  with  amusement. 

A  sudden  recollection  of  the  discussion  that  had  arisen  in 
the  yard  behind  the  counting-house,  whether  an  egg  could  be 
eaten  if  it  had  been  laid  the  day  after  the  Sabbath,  brought  a 
smile  to  his  face,  but  a  different  smile  from  that  of  yore,  for 
he  understood  now  better  than  he  had  understood  then,  that 
this  (in  itself  a  ridiculous)  question  was  no  more  serious  than 
a  bramble  that  might  for  a  moment  entangle  the  garment  of 
a  wayfarer :  of  little  account  was  the  delay,  if  the  feet  were 
on  the  right  road.  Now  the  scruple  of  conscience  that  the 
question  had  awakened  might  be  considered  as  a  desire  to 
live  according  to  a  law  which,  observed  for  generations,  had 
become  part  of  the  national  sense  and  spirit.  On  this  he 
fell  to  thinking  that  it  is  only  by  laws  and  traditions  that  we 
may  know  ourselves  —  whence  we  have  come  and  whither 
we  are  going.  He  attributed  to  these  laws  and  traditions 
the  love  of  the  Jewish  race  for  their  God,  and  their  desire  to 
love  God,  and  to  form  their  lives  in  obedience  to  what  they 
believed  to  be  God's  will.  Without  these  rites  and  observ- 
ances their  love  of  God  would  not  have  survived.  It  was 
not  by  exaggeration  of  these  laws  but  by  the  scepticism  of 
the  Sadducees  that  the  Temple  was  polluted.  If  the  priests 
degraded  religion  and  made  a  vile  thing  of  it,  there  were 
others  that  ennobled  the  Temple  by  their  piety. 

And  as  these  thoughts  passed  through  Joseph's  mind, 
his  eyes  went  to  the  simple  folk  who  never  asked  themselves 


64  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

whether  they  were  Sadducees  or  Pharisees,  but  were  content 
to  pray  around  the  Temple  that  the  Lord  would  not  take 
them  away  till  they  witnessed  the  triumph  of  Israel,  never 
asking  if  the  promised  resurrection  would  be  obtained  in  this 
world  —  if  not  in  each  individual  case,  by  the  race  itself — 
or  whether  they  would  all  be  lifted  by  angels  out  of  their 
graves  and  carried  away  by  them  into  a  happy  immortality. 
The  simple  folk  on  whom  Joseph's  eyes  rested  favour- 
ably, prayed,  untroubled  by  difficult  questions :  they  were 
content  to  love  God ;  and,  captured  by  their  simple  un- 
questioning faith,  which  he  felt  to  be  the  only  spiritual  value 
in  this  world,  he  was  glad  to  turn  away  from  both  Sadducees 
and  Pharisees  and  mix  with  them.  Sometimes,  and  to  his 
great  regret,  he  brought  about  involuntarily  the  very  reli- 
gious disputations  that  it  was  his  object  to  quit  for  ever  when 
he  withdrew  himself  from  the  society  of  the  Pharisees.  A 
chance  word  was  enough  to  set  some  of  them  by  the  ears, 
asking  each  other  whether  the  soul  may  or  can  descend 
again  into  the  corruptible  body ;  and  it  was  one  day 
when  this  question  was  being  disputed  that  a  disputant, 
pressing  forward,  announced  his  belief  that  the  soul,  being 
alone  immortal,  does  not  attempt  to  regain  the  temple  of 
the  body.  A  doctrine  which  astonished  Joseph,  so  simple 
did  it  seem  and  so  reasonable;  and  as  he  stood  wondering 
why  he  had  not  thought  of  it  himself,  his  eyes  telling  his 
perplexity,  he  was  awakened  from  his  dream,  and  his  awaken- 
ing was  caused  by  the  word  "Essene."  He  asked  for  a 
meaning  to  be  put  upon  it,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the 
people,  who  were  not  aware  that  the  fame  of  this  third  sect 
of  the  Jews  was  not  yet  spread  into  Galilee.  There  were 
many  willing  to  instruct  him,  and  almost  the  first  thing  he 
learnt  about  them  was  that  they  were  not  viewed  with 
favour  in  Jerusalem,  for  they  did  not  send  animals  to  the 
Temple  for  sacrifice,  deeming  blood-letting  a  crime.  A  still 
more  fundamental  tenet  of  this  sect  was  its  denial  of  private 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  65 

property :  all  they  had,  belonged  to  one  brother  as  much  as 
to  another,  and  they  lived  in  various  places,  avoiding  cities, 
and  setting  up  villages  of  their  own  accord ;  notably  one  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Jordan,  from  whence  recruiting 
missionaries  sometimes  came  forth,  for  the  Essenes  dis- 
dained marriage,  and  relied  on  proselytism  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  order.  The  rule  of  the  Essenes,  however,  did 
not  exclude  marriage  because  they  believed  the  end  of  the 
world  was  drawing  nigh,  but  because  they  wished  to  exclude 
all  pleasure  from  life.  To  do  this,  to  conceive  the  duty  of 
man  to  be  a  cheerful  exclusion  of  all  pleasure,  seemed  to 
Joseph  wonderful,  an  exaltation  of  the  spirit  that  he  had 
not  hitherto  believed  man  to  be  capable  of:  and  one  night, 
while  thinking  of  these  things,  he  fell  on  a  resolve  that  he 
would  go  to  Jericho  on  the  morrow  to  see  for  himself  if  all 
the  tales  he  heard  about  the  brethren  were  true.  At  the 
same  time  he  looked  forward  to  getting  away  from  the  seven 
windy  hills  where  the  sun  had  not  been  seen  for  days,  only 
grey  vapour  coiling  and  uncoiling  and  going  out,  and  where, 
with  a  patter  of  rain  in  his  ears,  he  was  for  many  days  crouch- 
ing up  to  a  fire  for  warmth. 

But  in  Jericho  he  would  be  as  it  were  back  in  Galilee : 
a  pleasant  winter  resort,  to  be  reached  easily  in  a  day  by 
a  path  through  the  hills,  so  plainly  traced  by  frequent  usage 
that  a  guide  was  not  needed.  A  servant  he  could  not  bring 
with  him,  for  none  was  permitted  in  the  cenoby,  a  different 
mode  and  colour  of  life  prevailing  there  from  any  he  ever 
heard  of,  but  he  hoped  to  range  himself  to  it,  and  —  thinking 
how  this  might  be  done  —  he  rode  round  the  hillside,  coming 
soon  into  view  of  Bethany  over  against  the  desert.  From 
thence  he  proceeded  by  long  descents  into  a  land  tossed 
into  numberless  hills  and  torn  up  into  such  deep  valleys 
that  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  symbol  of  God's  anger  in  a 
moment  of  great  provocation.  Or  maybe,  he  said  to  him- 
self, these  valleys  are  the  ruts  of  the  celestial  chariot  that 

F 


eS  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

passed  this  way  to  take  Elijah  up  to  Heaven  ?  Or  maybe 
.  .  .  His  mind  was  wandering,  and  —  forgetful  of  the  subject 
of  his  meditation  —  he  looked  round  and  could  see  little  else 
but  strange  shapes  of  cliffs  and  boulders,  rocks  and  lofty 
scarps  enwrapped  in  mist  so  thick  that  he  fell  to  thinking 
whence  came  the  fume  ?  For  rocks  are  breathless,  he  said, 
and  there  are  only  rocks  here,  only  rocks  and  patches  of 
earth  in  which  the  peasants  sow  patches  of  barley.  At  that 
moment  his  mule  slid  in  the  slime  of  the  path  to  within  a 
few  inches  of  a  precipice,  and  Joseph  uttered  a  cry  before 
the  gulf  which  startled  a  few  rain-drenched  crows  that  went 
away  cawing,  making  the  silence  more  melancholy  than  be- 
fore. A  few  more  inches,  Joseph  thought,  and  we  should 
have  been  over,  though  a  mule  has  never  been  known  to 
walk  or  to  slide  over  a  precipice.  A  moment  after,  his  mule 
was  climbing  up  a  heap  of  rubble;  and  when  they  were 
at  the  top  Joseph  looked  over  the  misted  gulf,  thinking  that 
if  the  animal  had  crossed  his  legs  mule  and  rider  would  both 
be  at  the  bottom  of  a  ravine  by  now.  And  the  crows  that 
my  cry  startled,  he  said,  would  soon  return,  scenting  blood. 
He  rode  on,  thinking  of  the  three  crows,  and  when  he  re- 
turned to  himself  the  mule  was  about  to  pass  under  a  pro- 
jecting rock,  regardless,  he  thought,  of  the  man  on  his  back, 
but  the  sagacious  animal  had  taken  his  rider's  height  into 
his  consideration,  so  it  seemed,  for  at  least  three  inches  were 
to  spare  between  Joseph's  head  and  the  rock.  Nor  did  the 
mule's  sagacity  end  here;  for  finding  no  trace  of  the  path 
on  the  other  side  he  started  to  climb  the  steep  hill  as  a  goat 
might,  frightening  Joseph  into  a  tug  or  two  at  the  bridle,  to 
which  the  mule  gave  no  heed  but  continued  the  ascent  with 
conviction  and  after  a  little  circuit  among  intricate  rocks 
turned  down  the  hill  again  and  slid  into  the  path  almost  on 
his  haunches.  A  wonderful  animal  truly !  Joseph  said, 
marvelling  greatly ;  he  guessed  that  the  path  lay  under  the 
mass  of  rubble  come  down  in  some  landslip.     He  knew  he 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  67 

would  meet  it  farther  on  :  he  may  have  been  this  way  before. 
A  wonderful  animal  all  the  same,  a  perfect  animal,  if  he 
could  be  persuaded  not  to  walk  within  ten  inches  of  the 
brink  !  and  Joseph  drew  the  mule  away  to  the  right,  under 
the  hillside,  but  a  few  minutes  after,  divining  that  his  rider's 
thoughts  were  lost  in  those  strange  argumentations  common 
to  human  beings,  the  mule  returned  to  the  brink,  out  of 
reach  of  any  projecting  rocks.  He  was  happily  content  to 
follow  the  twisting  road,  giving  no  faintest  attention  to  the 
humped  hills  always  falling  into  steep  valleys  and  always 
rising  out  of  steep  valleys,  as  round  and  humped  as  the  hills 
that  were  left  behind.  Joseph  noticed  the  hills,  but  the  mule 
did  not :  he  only  knew  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  his 
journey,  whereas  Joseph  began  very  soon  to  be  concerned 
to  learn  how  far  they  were  come,  and  as  there  was  nobody 
about  who  could  tell  him  he  reined  up  his  mule,  which  began 
to  seek  herbage  —  a  dandelion,  an  anemone,  a  tuft  of  wild 
rosemary  —  while  his  rider  meditated  on  the  whereabouts 
of  the  inn.  The  road,  he  said,  winds  round  the  highest  of 
these  hills,  reaching  at  last  a  tableland  half-way  between 
Jerusalem  and  Jericho,  and  on  the  top  of  it  is  the  inn.  We 
shall  see  it  as  soon  as  yon  cloud  lifts. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  FEW  wanderers  loitered  about  the  inn :  they  came 
from  Mount  Sinai,  so  the  innkeeper  said ;  he  mentioned 
that  they  had  a  camel  and  an  ass  in  the  paddock;  and 
Joseph  was  surprised  by  the  harshness  with  which  the 
innkeeper  rushed  from  him  and  told  the  wanderers  that 
they  waited  in  vain. 

They  were  strange  and  fierce,  remote  like  the  desert, 
whence  they  had  come ;  and  he  was  afraid  of  them  like  the 
innkeeper,  but  began  to  pity  them  when  he  heard  that  they 
had  not  tasted  food  for  a  fortnight,  only  a  little  camel's 
milk.  They're  waiting  for  me  to  give  them  the  rinsings,  the 
innkeeper  said,  if  any  should  remain  at  the  bottom  of  the 
barrel :  you  see,  all  water  has  to  be  brought  to  the  inn  in 
an  ox-cart.  There's  no  well  on  the  hills  and  we  sell  water  to 
those  who  can  afford  to  pay  for  it.  Then  let  the  man  drink 
his  fill,  Joseph  answered,  and  his  wife  too.  And  his  eyes 
examined  the  woman  curiously,  for  he  never  saw  so  mean 
a  thing  before :  her  small  beady  eyes  were  like  a  rat's,  and 
her  skin  was  nearly  as  brown.  Twenty  years  of  desert 
wandering  leave  them  like  mummies,  he  reflected ;  and  the 
child,  whom  the  mother  enjoined  to  come  forward  and  to 
speak  winningly  to  the  rich  man,  though  in  her  early  teens 
was  as  lean  and  brown  and  ugly  as  her  mother.  Marauders 
they  sometimes  were,  but  now  they  seemed  so  poor  that  Joseph 
thought  he  could  never  have  seen  poverty  before,  and  took 
pleasure  in  distributing  figs  amongst  them.  Let  them  not  see 
your  money  when  you  pay  me,  the  innkeeper  said,  for  half  a 
shekel  they  would  have  my  life,  and  many's  the  time  they'd 

68 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  69 

have  had  it  if  Pilate,  our  governor,  had  not  sent  me  a  guard. 
The  twain  spoke  of  the  new  procurator  till  Joseph  mounted 
his  mule.  I'll  see  that  none  of  them  follow  you,  the  inn- 
keeper whispered ;  and  Joseph  rode  away  down  the  lower 
hills,  alongside  of  precipices  and  through  narrow  defiles,  fol- 
lowing the  path,  which  debouched  at  last  on  to  a  shallow 
valley  full  of  loose  stones  and  rocks.  I  suppose  the  mule 
knows  best,  Joseph  said,  and  he  held  the  bridle  loosely  and 
watched  the  rain,  regretting  that  the  downpour  should 
have  begun  in  so  exposed  a  place,  but  so  convinced  did  the 
animal  seem  that  the  conduct  of  the  journey  should  be  left 
entirely  to  his  judgment  that  it  was  vain  to  ask  him  to  hasten 
his  pace,  and  he  continued  to  clamber  down  loose  heaps  of 
stones,  seeking  every  byway  unnecessarily,  Joseph  could  not 
help  thinking,  but  bringing  his  rider  and  himself  safely,  he 
was  forced  to  admit,  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  over  against 
Jericho.  Another  toiling  ascent  was  begun,  and  Joseph  felt 
a  trickle  of  rain  down  his  spine,  while  the  mule  seemed  to 
debate  with  himself  whether  shelter  was  to  be  sought,  and 
spying  a  rock  a  little  way  up  the  hillside  he  trotted  straight 
to  it  and  entered  the  cave  —  the  rock  projected  so  far  beyond 
a  hill  that  it  might  be  called  a  cave,  and  better  shelter  from 
the  rain  they  could  not  have  found.  A  wonderful  animal, 
thou'rt  surely,  knowing  everything,  Joseph  said,  and  the 
mule  shook  the  rain  out  of  his  long  ears,  and  Joseph  stood  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cave,  watching  the  rain  falling  and  gathering 
into  pools  among  the  rocks,  wondering  the  while  if  this  land 
was  cast  away  into  desert  by  the  power  of  the  Almighty  God 
because  of  the  worship  of  the  Golden  Calf;  and  then  remem- 
bering that  it  was  cast  into  desert  for  the  sins  of  the  cities  of 
the  plain,  he  said  : .  how  could  I  have  thought  else  ?  As 
soon  as  this  rain  ceases  we  will  go  up  the  defile  and  at  the  end 
of  it  the  lake  will  lie  before  us  deep  down  under  the  Moab 
mountains.  He  remembered  too  that  he  would  have  to  reach 
to  the  cenoby  before  the  day  was  over,  or  else  sleep  in  Jericho. 


70  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

The  sky  seemed  to  be  brightening:  at  that  moment  he 
heard  footsteps.  He  was  unarmed  and  the  hills  were  in- 
fested by  robbers.     The  steps  continued  to  approach.  .  .  . 

His  hope  was  that  the  man  might  be  some  innocent 
shepherd  in  search  of  a  lost  ewe :  if  he  were  a  robber,  that 
he  might  pass  on,  unsuspicious  of  a  traveller  seeking  shelter 
from  the  rain  in  a  cave  a  little  way  up  the  hillside.  The  man 
came  into  view  of  the  cave  and  stood  for  some  time  in  front  of 
it,  his  back  turned  to  Joseph,  looking  round  the  sky,  and  then, 
like  one  who  has  lost  hope  in  the  weather,  he  hastened  on  his 
way.  As  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight,  Joseph  led  out  his  mule, 
clambered  into  the  saddle,  and  digging  his  heels  into  the 
mule's  sides,  galloped  the  best  part  of  a  mile  till  he  reached 
the  Roman  fort  overlooking  the  valley.  If  a  robber  was  to 
emerge,  a  Roman  soldier  would  speedily  come  to  his  assist- 
ance ;  but  behind  him  and  the  fort  were  some  excellent  lurking- 
places,  Joseph  thought,  for  robbers,  and  again  his  heels  went 
into  his  mule.  But  this  time,  as  if  he  knew  that  haste  was 
no  longer  necessary,  the  mule  hitched  up  his  back  and 
jangled  his  bells  so  loudly  that  again  Joseph's  heart  stood 
still.  He  was  within  sight  of  Jericho,  but  half-way  down 
the  descent  a  group  of  men  were  waiting,  as  if  for  travellers. 
His  best  chance  was  to  consider  them  as  harmless  passengers, 
so  he  rode  on,  and  the  beggars  —  for  they  were  no  more  — 
held  up  maimed  leprous  limbs  to  excite  his  pity. 

He  was  now  within  two  miles  of  Jericho,  and  he  rode  across 
the  sandy  plain,  thinking  of  the  Essenes  and  the  cenoby 
on  the  other  side  of  Jordan.  He  rode  in  full  meditation,  and 
it  was  not  till  he  was  nigh  the  town  of  Jericho  that  he  at- 
tempted to  think  by  which  ford  he  should  cross  Jordan : 
whether  by  ferry,  in  which  case  he  must  leave  his  mule  in 
Jericho ;  or  by  a  ford  higher  up  the  stream,  if  there  was  a 
ford  practicable  at  this  season ;  which  is  doubtful,  he  said 
to  himself,  as  he  came  within  view  of  the  swollen  river.  And 
he  hearkened  to  one  who  declared  the  river  to  be  dangerous 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  71 

to  man  and  beast :  but  another  told  him  differently,  and 
being  eager  to  reach  the  cenoby  he  determined  to  test  the 
ford. 

If  the  water  proved  too  strong  he  would  return  to  Jericho, 
but  the  mule  plunged  forward,  and  at  one  moment  it 
was  as  like  as  not  that  the  flood  would  carry  them  away 
into  the  lake  beyond,  but  Joseph's  weight  enabled  the 
animal  to  keep  on  his  hooves,  and  the  water  shallowing 
suddenly,  the  mule  reached  the  opposite  bank.  It  was  my 
weight  that  saved  us,  Joseph  said ;  and  dismounting,  he 
waited  for  the  panting  animal  to  recover  breath.  We  only 
just  did  it.  The  way  to  the  cenoby?  he  called  out  to  a 
passenger  along  the  bank,  and  was  told  he  must  hasten,  for 
the  Essenes  did  not  receive  anybody  after  sunset :  which 
may  or  may  not  be  true,  he  muttered,  as  he  pursued  his  way, 
his  eyes  attracted  and  amused  by  the  long  shadow  that  him- 
self and  his  mule  projected  over  the  wintry  earth.  He  was 
tempted  to  tickle  the  animal's  long  ears  with  a  view  to 
altering  the  silhouette,  and  then  his  thoughts  ran  on  into  the 
cenoby  and  what  might  befall  him  yonder ;  for  that  must  be 
it,  he  said,  looking  forward  and  discovering  a  small  village 
on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills,  on  the  ground  shelving  down 
towards  the  river. 

His  mule,  scenting  food  and  rest,  began  to  trot,  though 
very  tired,  and  half-an-hour  afterwards  Joseph  rode  into  a 
collection  of  huts,  grouped  —  but  without  design  —  round  a 
central  building  which  he  judged  to  be  an  assembly  hall 
whither  the  curators,  of  whom  he  had  heard,  met  for  the  trans- 
action of  the  business  of  the  community.  And  no  doubt,  he 
said,  it  serves  for  a  refectory,  for  the  midday  meal  which 
gathers  all  the  brethren  for  the  breaking  of  bread.  As  he 
was  thinking  of  these  things,  one  of  the  brethren  laid  hands 
on  the  bridle  and  asked  him  whom  he  might  be  wishing  to 
see ;  to  which  question  Joseph  answered  :  the  Head.  The 
brother   replied :    so   be   it ;    and   tethered   the   mule   to   a 


72  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

post  at  the  corner  of  the  central  hut,  begging  Joseph  to  enter 
and  seat  himself  on  one  of  the  benches,  of  which  there  were 
many,  and  a  table  long  enough  to  seat  some  fifty  or  sixty. 

He  recognised  the  place  he  was  in  as  the  refectory,  where 
the  rite  of  the  breaking  of  bread  was  accomplished.  To- 
morrow I  shall  witness  it,  he  said,  and  felt  like  dancing 
and  singing  in  his  childish  eagerness.  But  the  severity  of 
the  hall  soon  quieted  his  mood,  and  he  remembered  he 
must  collect  his  thoughts  and  prepare  his  story  for  recital, 
for  he  would  be  asked  to  give  an  account  of  himself.  As  he 
was  preparing  his  story,  the  president  entered  :  a  tall  man  of 
bulk,  with  the  pallor  of  age  in  his  face  and  in  the  hand  that 
lifted  the  black  taffeta  cap  from  his  head.  The  courteousness 
of  the  greeting  did  more  than  to  put  Joseph  at  his  ease,  as 
the  saying  is.  In  a  few  moments  he  was  confiding  himself 
to  this  man  of  kindly  dignity,  whose  voice  was  low,  who 
seemed  to  speak  always  from  the  heart,  and  it  was  wholly 
delightful  to  tell  the  great  Essene  that  he  was  come  from 
Galilee  to  attend  the  Feast  of  the  Passover  in  his  father's 
place,  and  that  after  having  allied  himself  in  turn  to  the 
Sadducees  and  the  Pharisees  he  came  to  hear  of  the  Essenes : 
I  have  come  thither,  hoping  to  find  the  truth  here.  You 
have  truthful  eyes,  said  the  president ;  and,  thus  encouraged, 
Joseph  told  that  there  were  some  in  the  Temple,  the  poor  who 
worship  God  daily  with  a  whole  heart.  It  was  from  them,  he 
said,  that  I  heard  of  your  doctrines.  Of  which  you  can  have 
obtained  only  the  merest  outline,  the  president  answered ; 
and  perhaps  when  you  know  us  better  our  rule  may  seem  too 
hard  for  you  to  follow,  or  it  may  be  that  you  will  feel  that 
you  are  called  to  worship  God  differently  from  us.  But  it 
matters  naught  how  we  worship,  if  our  worship  come  from 
the  heart. 

The  word  *' heart"  startled  Joseph  out  of  himself,  and  his 
eyes  falling  at  that  moment  on  the  Essene  he  was  moved  to 
these  words :  Father,  I  could  never  disobey  thee.     Let  me 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  73 

stay,  put  me  to  the  tests.  But  the  tests  are  long,  the  presi- 
dent answered  ;  we  would  not  suffer  you  to  return  to  Jericho 
to-night,  even  if  you  wished  it.  Your  mule  is  tired  and  would 
be  swept  away  by  the  descending  flood.  You  will  remain 
with  us  for  to-night  and  for  as  long  after  it  as  pleases  you  — 
to  the  end  of  your  probationship  and  after,  if  you  prove  your- 
self worthy  of  admission.  Meanwhile  you  will  be  given  a 
girdle,  a  white  garment  and  a  little  axe.  You  will  sleep  in 
one  of  the  outlying  huts.  Come  with  me  and  I  will  take  you 
round  our  village.  We  shall  meet  on  our  way  some  of  the 
brothers  returning  from  their  daily  tasks,  for  we  all  have  a 
craft :  many  of  us  are  husbandmen ;  the  two  coming  towards 
us  carrying  spades  are  from  the  fields,  and  that  one  turning 
down  the  lane  is  a  shepherd ;  he  has  just  folded  his  flock, 
but  he  will  return  to  them  with  his  dogs,  for  we  suffer  a  great 
deal  from  the  ravages  of  wild  beasts  with  which  the  woods 
are  thronged,  wolves  especially.  In  our  community  there  are 
healers,  and  these  study  the  medicinal  properties  of  herbs. 
If  you  resolve  to  remain  with  us,  you  will  choose  a  craft. 

Joseph  mentioned  that  the  only  craft  he  knew  was  dry- 
salting,  and  it  was  disappointing  to  hear  that  there  were  no 
fish  in  the  lake. 

There  is  a  long  time  of  probationship  before  one  is  ad- 
mitted, the  president  continued,  and  when  that  is  concluded 
another  long  time  must  pass  over  before  the  proselyte  is 
called  to  join  us  at  the  common  repasts.  Before  he  breaks 
bread  with  us  he  must  bind  himself  by  oath  to  be  always 
pious  towards  the  Divinity,  to  observe  justice  towards 
men,  and  to  injure  no  one  voluntarily  or  by  command : 
to  hate  always  the  unjust  and  never  to  shrink  from  taking 
part  in  the  conflict  on  the  side  of  the  just;  to  show  fidelity 
to  all  and  especially  to  those  who  rule.  Thou'lt  soon  begin 
to  understand  that  rule  doesn't  fall  to  anyone  except  by  the 
will  of  God.  I  have  never  deserved  to  rule,  but  headship 
came  to  me,  he  added  half  sadly,  as  if  he  feared  he  had  not 


74  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

been  sufficiently  exacting.  After  asking  Joseph  whether  he 
felt  himself  strong  enough  to  obey  so  severe  a  rule,  he  passed 
from  father  to  teacher.  Every  one  of  us  must  love  truth  and 
make  it  his  purpose  to  confute  those  who  speak  falsehood ; 
to  keep  his  hands  from  stealing  and  his  soul  from  unjust  gain. 
He  must  never  conceal  anything  from  a  member  of  the  order, 
nor  reveal  its  secrets  to  others,  even  if  he  should  have  to  suffer 
death  by  withholding  them ;  and  above  all,  while  trying 
to  engage  proselytes  he  must  speak  the  doctrines  only  as 
he  has  heard  them  from  us.  Thou'lt  return  perhaps  to 
Jerusalem.  .  .  . 

He  broke  off  to  speak  to  the  brothers  who  were  passing 
into  the  village  from  their  daily  work,  and  presented  Joseph 
as  one  who,  shocked  by  the  service  of  the  Sadducees  in  the 
Temple,  had  come  desiring  admission  to  their  order.  At 
the  news  of  a  new  adherent,  the  faces  of  the  brothers  became 
joyous ;  for  though  the  rule  seems  hard  when  related,  they 
said,  in  practice,  even  at  first,  it  seems  light  enough,  and  soon 
we  do  not  feel  it  at  all. 

They  were  now  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  and  pointing 
to  a  cabin  the  Essene  told  Joseph  that  he  would  sleep  there 
and  enter  on  the  morrow  upon  his  probationship.  But, 
Father,  may  I  not  hear  more  ?  If  a  brother  be  found  guilty 
of  sin,  will  he  be  cast  out  of  the  order  ?  The  president 
answered  that  if  one  having  been  admitted  to  their  com- 
munity committed  sins  deserving  of  death,  he  was  cast  out 
and  often  perished  by  a  most  wretched  fate,  for  being  bound 
by  oath  and  customs  he  could  not  even  receive  food  from 
others  but  must  eat  grass,  and  with  his  body  worn  by  famine 
he  perishes.  Unless,  the  president  added,  we  have  pity  on 
him  at  the  last  breath  and  think  he  has  suffered  sufficiently 
for  his  sins. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  hut  that  Joseph  was  bidden  to  enter  was  the  last  left 
in  the  cenoby  for  allotment,  four  proselytes  having  arrived 
last  month. 

No  better  commodity  have  we  for  the  moment,  the  curator 
said,  struck  by  the  precarious  shelter  the  hut  offered  —  a 
crazy  door  and  a  roof  that  let  the  starlight  through  at  one 
end  of  the  wall.  But  the  rains  are  over,  he  added,  and  the 
coverlet  is  a  warm  one.  On  this  he  left  Joseph,  whom  the 
bell  would  call  to  orison,  too  tired  to  sleep,  turning  vaguely 
from  side  to  side,  trying  to  hush  the  thoughts  that  hurtled 
through  his  clear  brain  —  that  stars  endure  for  ever,  but  the 
life  of  the  palm-tree  was  as  the  life  of  the  man  who  fed  on 
its  fruit.  The  tree  lived  one  hundred  years,  and  among  the 
Essenes  a  centenarian  was  no  rare  thing,  but  of  what  value  to 
live  a  hundred  years  in  the  monotonous  life  of  the  cenoby  ? 
And  in  his  imagination,  heightened  by  insomnia,  the  Essenes 
seemed  to  him  like  the  sleeping  trees.  If  he  remained  he 
would  become  like  them,  while  his  father  lived  alone  in 
Galilee !  Dan  rose  up  before  him  and  he  could  find  no  sense 
In  the  assurances  he  had  given  the  president  that  he  wished 
to  be  admitted  into  the  order.  He  seemed  no  longer  to 
desire  admission,  and  if  he  did  desire  it  he  could  not,  for  his 
father's  sake,  accept  the  admission.  Then  why  had  he  talked 
as  he  had  done  to  the  president  ?  He  could  not  tell :  and  it 
must  have  been  while  lying  on  his  right  side,  trying  to  under- 
stand himself,  what  he  was  and  why  he  was  in  the  cenoby, 
that  he  fell  into  that  deep  and  dreamless  sleep  from  which  he 
was  awakened  by  a  bell,  and  so  suddenly  that  it  seemed  to 

75 


76  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

him  that  he  had  not  been  asleep  more  than  a  few  minutes. 
It  was  no  doubt  the  bell  for  morning  prayer :  and  only  half 
awake  he  repaired  with  the  other  proselytes  to  the  part  of 
the  village  open  to  the  sunrise. 

All  the  Essenes  were  assembled  there,  and  he  learnt  that 
they  looked  upon  this  prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  the  return  of 
light  as  the  important  event  of  the  day.  He  joined  in  it, 
though  he  suspected  a  certain  idolatry  in  the  prayer.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  the  Essenes  were  praying  for  the  sun 
to  rise ;  but  to  do  this  would  be  to  worship  the  sun  in  some 
measure,  and  to  look  upon  the  sun  as  in  some  degree  a 
God,  he  feared ;  but  the  Essenes  were  certainly  very  pious 
Jews.  What  else  they  were,  time  would  reveal  to  him  :  a 
few  days  would  be  enough ;  and  long  before  the  prayer  was 
finished  he  was  thinking  of  his  father  in  Galilee  and  what  his 
face  would  tell,  were  he  to  see  his  son  bowing  before  the  sun. 
But  the  Essenes  were  not  really  worshipping  the  sun  but 
praying  to  God  that  the  sun  might  rise  and  give  them  light 
again  to  continue  their  daily  work.  One  whole  day  at  least 
he  must  spend  in  the  cenoby,  and  —  feeling  that  he  was 
becoming  interested  again  in  the  Essenes  —  he  began  to  form 
a  plan  to  stay  some  time  with  them. 

On  rising  from  his  knees,  he  thought  he  might  stay  for 
some  weeks.  But  if  the  Essene  brotherhood  succeeded  in 
persuading  him  that  his  fate  was  to  abandon  his  father 
and  the  trade  that  awaited  him  in  Galilee  and  the  wife  who 
awaited  him  somewhere  ?  His  father  often  said :  Joseph, 
you  are  the  last  of  our  race.  I  hope  to  see  with  you  a  good 
wife  who  will  bear  you  children,  for  I  should  like  to  bless 
my  grandchildren  before  I  die.  The  Essenes  would  at  least 
free  him  from  the  necessity  of  telling  his  father  that  there 
was  no  heart  in  him  for  a  wife ;   and  if  he  did  not  take  a  wife, 

he  might  become .     One  of  the  curators  whispered  to 

him  the  use  he  should  make  of  the  little  axe,  and  he  followed 
the  other  proselytes;    and  having  found  a  place  where  the 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  ']'r 

earth  was  soft,  each  dug  a  hole  about  a  foot  deep,  into  which 
they  eased  themselves,  afterwards  filling  up  the  hole  with 
the  earth  that  had  been  taken  out.  Joseph  then  went  down 
with  them  to  a  source  for  purifications,  and  these  being 
finished  the  proselytes  grouped  themselves  round  Joseph, 
anxious  to  become  acquainted  with  the  last  recruit,  and  ask- 
ing all  together  what  provision  of  food  he  had  made  for  him- 
self for  that  day  :  if  he  had  made  none,  he  would  have  to  go 
without  food,  for  only  those  who  were  admitted  into  the  order 
were  suffered  to  the  common  repasts.  A  serious  announce- 
ment, he  said,  to  make  to  a  man  at  break  of  day  who  knew 
nothing  of  these  things  yesterday,  and  he  asked  how  his 
omission  might  be  repaired.  He  must  ask  for  permission 
to  go  to  Jericho  to  buy  food.  As  he  was  going  there  on  a 
mule,  he  might  bring  back  food  not  only  for  himself  but  for 
all  of  them  :  enough  lentils  to  last  a  week ;  and  he  inquired 
what  else  they  were  permitted  to  eat  —  if  eggs  were  for- 
bidden ?  At  which  the  proselytes  clapped  their  hands.  A 
basket  of  eggs !  A  basket  of  eggs !  And  some  honey ! 
cried  another.  Figs !  cried  a  third ;  we  haven't  tasted  any 
for  a  month.  But  my  mule's  back  will  not  bear  all  that  you 
require,  Joseph  answered.  Our  mule !  cried  the  proselytes ; 
all  property  is  held  in  common.  Even  the  fact  of  my  mule 
having  become  common  property,  Joseph  said,  will  not  enable 
him  to  carry  more  than  his  customary  burden,  and  the  goods 
will  embarrass  me.  If  the  mule  belongs  to  the  community, 
then  I  am  the  mule  driver,  the  provider  of  the  community. 
Constituted  such  by  thy  knowledge  of  the  aptitudes  and 
temper  and  strength  of  the  animal !  cried  a  proselyte  after 
him,  and  he  went  away  to  seek  out  one  of  the  curators; 
for  it  is  not  permissible  for  an  Essene  to  go  to  Jericho  without 
having  gotten  permission.  Of  course  the  permission  was 
ftt  once  granted,  and  while  saddling  his  mule  for  the  journey 
the  memory  of  the  river  overnight  now  caused  Joseph  to 
hesitate   and   to  think   that   he  might   find   himself  return 


78  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

empty-handed  to  the  plump  of  proselytes  now  waiting  to 
see  him  start. 

But  if  thou  crossed  the  river  yesterday,  there  is  no  reason 
why  thou  shouldn't  cross  it  in  safety  now,  cried  one.  But 
forget  not  the  basket  of  eggs,  said  a  second.  Nor  the  honey, 
mentioned  a  third,  and  a  fourth  called  after  him  the  quality 
of  lentils  he  enjoyed.  The  mind  of  the  fifth  regarding  food 
was  not  expressed,  for  a  curator  came  by  and  reproved  them, 
saying  they  were  mere  belly-worshippers. 

There  will  be  less  water  in  the  river  than  there  was  over- 
night, the  curator  said,  and  Joseph  hoped  he  was  right,  for 
it  would  be  a  harsh  and  disagreeable  death  to  drown  in  a 
lake  so  salt  that  fish  could  not  live  in  it.  True,  one  would 
escape  being  eaten  by  fishes ;  but  if  the  mule  be  carried  away, 
he  said  to  himself,  drown  I  shall,  long  before  I  reach  the  lake, 
unless  indeed  I  strike  out  and  swim  —  which,  it  seemed  to 
him,  might  be  the  best  way  to  save  his  life  —  and  if  there  be 
no  current  in  the  lake  I  can  gain  the  shore  easily.  But  the 
first  sight  of  the  river  proved  the  vanity  of  his  foreboding, 
for  during  the  night  it  had  emptied  a  great  part  of  its  flood 
into  the  lake.  The  struggle  in  getting  his  mule  across  was 
slight;  still  slighter  when  he  returned  with  a  sack  of  lentils, 
a  basket  of  eggs,  some  pounds  of  honey  and  many  misgivings 
as  to  whether  he  should  announce  this  last  commodity  to 
the  curator  or  introduce  it  surreptitiously.  To  begin  his 
probationship  with  a  surreptitious  act  would  disgrace  him 
in  the  eyes  of  the  prior,  whose  good  opinion  he  valued  above 
all.  So  did  his  thoughts  run  on  till  he  came  within  sight  of 
a  curator,  who  told  him  that  sometimes,  on  the  first  day  of 
probationship,  honey  and  figs  were  allowed. 

The  cooking  of  the  food  and  the  eating  of  it  in  the  only 
cabin  in  which  there  were  conveniences  for  eating  helped  the 
time  away,  and  Joseph  began  to  ask  himself  how  long  his 
cloistral  life  was  going  to  endure,  for  he  seemed  to  have  lost 
all  desire  to  leave  it,  and  had  begun  to  turn  the  different 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  79 

crafts  over  in  his  mind  and  to  debate  which  he  should  choose 
to  put  his  hand  to.  Of  husbandry  he  was  as  ignorant  as  a 
crow,  nor  could  he  tell  poisonous  pastures  from  wholesome, 
nor  could  he  help  in  the  bakery.  At  first  venture  there 
seemed  to  be  no  craft  for  him  to  follow,  since  fish  did  not 
thrive  in  the  salt  lake  and  the  fisherman's  art  could  not  be 
practised,  he  was  told,  in  the  Jordan,  for  the  Essenes  were 
not  permitted  to  kill  any  living  thing. 

While  laying  emphasis  on  this  rule,  the  curator  cracked  a 
flea  under  his  robe,  but  Joseph  did  not  call  his  attention  to 
his  disobedience,  but  bowed  his  head  and  left  him  to  the 
scruple  of  conscience  which  he  hoped  would  awaken  in  him 
later. 

Before  this  had  time  to  come  to  pass,  the  curator  called 
after  him  and  suggested  that  he  might  teach  Hebrew  to  the 
four  proselytes,  whose  knowledge  of  that  language  had  seemed 
to  Mathias,  their  instructor,  disgracefully  weak.  They  were 
all  from  Alexandria,  like  their  teacher,  and  read  the  Scrip- 
tures in  Greek;  but  the  Essenes,  so  said  the  curator,  must 
read  the  Scriptures  in  Hebrew;  and  the  teaching  of  Hebrew, 
Mathias  said  to  Joseph,  takes  me  away  from  my  important 
work,  but  it  may  amuse  you  to  teach  them.  Our  father  may 
accept  you  as  a  sufficient  teacher  :  go  to  him  for  examination. 

A  little  talk  and  a  few  passages  read  from  the  Scriptures 
satisfied  the  president  that  Joseph  was  the  assistant  teacher 
that  had  been  so  long  desired  in  the  community,  and  he  spoke 
to  Joseph  soothingly  of  Mathias,  whose  life  work  was  the  true 
interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  But  did  the  Scriptures 
need  interpretation .?  Joseph  asked  himself,  not  daring  to 
put  questions  to  the  president ;  and  on  an  early  occasion  he 
asked  Mathias  what  the  president  meant  when  he  spoke  of  a 
true  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  was  told  that  the 
true  meaning  of  the  Scriptures  lay  below  the  literal  meaning. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  he  said,  that  the  Scriptures  must  be 
regarded  as  allegories ;    and  he  explained  to  Joseph  that  he 


80  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

devoted  all  his  intellect  to  discovering  and  explaining  these 
allegories,  a  task  demanding  extraordinary  assiduity,  for  they 
lay  concealed  in  what  seemed  to  the  vulgar  eye  mere  state- 
ments of  fact :  as  if,  he  added  scornfully,  God  chose  the 
prophets  for  no  better  end  than  a  mere  relation  of  facts  !  He 
was  willing,  however,  to  concede  that  his  manner  of  treating 
the  Scriptures  was  not  approved  by  the  entire  community, 
but  in  view  of  his  learning,  the  proselytes  were  admitted  to 
his  lectures  —  one  of  the  innovations  of  the  prior,  who,  in 
spite  of  all,  remained  one  of  his  supporters. 

To  the  end  of  his  life  Joseph  kept  in  his  memory  the 
moment  when  he  sat  in  the  corner  of  the  hall,  his  eyes  fixed 
upon  Mathias's  young  and  beautiful  profile,  cjear  cut,  hard 
and  decisive  as  the  profiles  of  the  young  gods  that  decorated 
the  Greek  coins  which  shocked  him  in  Caesarea.  His  memory 
of  Mathias  was  as  partial;  but  he  knew  the  president's 
full  face,  and  while  pondering  on  it  he  remembered  that  he 
had  never  seen  him  in  profile.  Nor  was  this  all  that  set 
the  two  men  apart  in  Joseph's  consciousness.  The  prior's 
simple  and  homely  language  came  from  the  heart,  entered 
the  heart  and  was  remembered,  whereas  Mathias  spoke  from 
his  brain.  The  heart  is  simple  and  always  the  same,  but  the 
brain  is  complex  and  various;  and  therefore  it  was  natural 
that  Mathias  should  hold,  as  if  in  fee,  a  great  store  of  verbal 
felicities,  and  that  he  should  translate  all  shades  of  thought 
at  once  into  words. 

His  mind  moved  in  a  rich  erudite  and  complex  syntax 
that  turned  all  opposition  into  admiration.  Even  the  presi- 
dent, who  had  been  listening  to  theology  all  his  life  and  had 
much  business  to  attend  to,  must  fain  neglect  Some  of  it 
for  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  Mathias  when  he  lectured. 
Even  Saddoc,  the  most  orthodox  Jew  in  the  cenoby,  Mathias 
could  keep  as  it  were  chained  to  his  seat.  He  resented  and 
spurned  the  allegory,  but  the  beautiful  voice  that  brought 
out  sentence  after  sentence,  like  silk  from  off  a  spool,  enticed 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  8i 

his  thoughts  away  from  it.  The  language  used  in  the 
cenoby  was  Aramaic,  and  never  did  Joseph  hear  that  language 
spoken  so  beautifully.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  listening 
to  a  new  language  and  on  leaving  the  hall  he  told  Mathias 
that  it  had  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  listening  to  Aramaic  for 
the  first  time.  Mathias  answered  him  —  blushing  a  little, 
Joseph  thought  —  that  he  hoped  one  of  these  days,  in  Egypt 
perhaps,  if  Joseph  ever  went  there,  to  lecture  to  him  in 
Greek.  He  liked  Aramaic  for  other  purposes,  but  for  phi- 
losophy there  was  but  one  language.  But  you  speak  Greek 
and  are  now  teaching  Greek,  so  let  us  speak  it  when  we  are 
together,  Mathias  said,  and  if  I  detect  any  incorrectness  I 
will  warn  you  against  it. 

That  Mathias  should  choose  to  speak  to  him  in  Greek  was 
flattering  indeed,  and  Joseph,  who  had  not  spoken  Greek  for 
many  months,  began  to  prattle,  but  he  had  not  said  many 
words  before  Mathias  interrupted  him  and  said  :  you  must 
have  learnt  Greek  very  young.  This  remark  turned  the  talk 
on  to  Azariah ;  and  Mathias  listened  to  Joseph's  account  of 
his  tutor  carelessly,  interrupting  him  when  he  had  heard 
enough  with  a  remark  anent  the  advancement  of  the  spring, 
to  which  Joseph  did  not  know  how  to  reply,  so  suddenly  had 
his  thoughts  been  jerked  away  from  the  subject  he  was 
pursuing.  You  have  the  full  Jewish  mind,  Mathias  con- 
tinued ;  interested  in  moral  ideas  rather  than  beauty  :  with- 
out eyes  for  the  village.  True  that  you  see  it  in  winter 
plight,  but  in  the  near  season  all  the  fields  will  be  verdant 
and  the  lintels  running  over  with  flowers.  He  waited  for 
Joseph  to  defend  himself,  but  Joseph  did  not  know  for  certain 
that  Mathias  was  not  right  —  perhaps  he  was  more  interested 
in  moral  ideas  than  in  beauty.  However  this  might  be,  he 
began  to  experience  an  aversion,  and  might  have  taken  leave 
of  Mathias  if  they  had  not  come  upon  the  president.  He 
stopped  to  speak  to  them  ;  and  having  congratulated  Mathias 
on  having  fortuned  at  last  on  an  efficient  teacher  of  Hebrew 

G 


82  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

and  Greek,  and  addressed  a  few  kindly  words  directly  to 
Joseph  and  taken  his  hand  in  his,  the  head  of  the  community 
bade  them  both  good-bye,  saying  that  important  business 
needed  his  presence.  He  sped  away  on  his  business,  but  he 
seemed  to  leave  something  of  himself  behind,  and  even 
Mathias  was  perforce  distracted  from  his  search  of  a  philo- 
sophic point  of  view  and  indulged  himself  in  the  luxury  of  a 
simple  remark.  His  goodness,  he  said,  is  so  natural,  like  the 
air  we  breathe  and  the  bread  we  eat,  and  that  is  why  we  all 
love  him,  and  why  all  dissension  vanishes  at  the  approach  of 
our  president ;  a  remarkable  man. 

The  most  wonderful  I  have  ever  seen,  Joseph  answered : 
a  remark  that  did  not  altogether  please  Mathias,  for  he 
added  :  his  power  is  in  himself,  for  he  is  altogether  without 
philosophy. 

Joseph  was  moved  to  ask  Mathias  if  the  charm  that  him- 
self experienced  was  not  an  entire  absence  of  philosophy. 
But  he  did  not  dare  to  rouse  Mathias,  whom  he  feared,  and 
his  curiosity  overcame  his  sense  of  loyalty  to  the  president. 
If  he  were  to  take  his  leave  abruptly,  he  would  have  to  re- 
turn alone  to  the  village  to  seek  the  four  proselytes,  but  their 
companionship  did  not  attract  him,  and  he  found  himself 
at  that  moment  unable  to  deny  himself  the  pleasure  of  the 
sweet  refreshing  evening  air,  which  as  they  approached  the 
river  seemed  to  grow  sweeter.  The  river  itself  was  more 
attractive  than  he  had  yet  seen  it,  and  there  was  that  sadness 
upon  it  which  we  notice  when  a  rainy  day  passes  into  a  fine 
evening.  The  clouds  were  rolling  on  like  a  battle  —  pen- 
nants flying  in  splendid  array,  leaving  the  last  row  of  hills 
outlined  against  a  clear  space  of  sky ;  and,  with  his  eyes 
fixed  on  the  cliffs  over  against  the  coasts  of  the  lake,  Mathias 
let  his  thoughts  run  after  his  favourite  abstractions :  the 
relation  of  God  to  time  and  place.  As  he  dreamed  his  meta- 
physics, he  answered  Joseph's  questions  from  time  to  time, 
manifesting,  however,  so  little  interest  in  them  that  at  last 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  83 

Joseph  felt  he  could  bear  it  no  longer,  and  resolved  to  leave 
him.  But  just  as  he  was  about  to  bid  him  good-bye,  Mathias 
said  that  the  Essenes  were  pious  Jews  who  were  content  with 
mere  piety,  but  mere  piety  was  not  enough  :  God  had  given 
to  man  a  mind,  and  therefore  desired  man  to  meditate,  not 
on  his  own  nature  —  which  was  trivial  and  passing  —  but 
on  God's  nature,  which  was  important  and  eternal. 

This  remark  revealed  a  new  scope  for  inquiry  to  Joseph, 
who  was  interested  in  the  Essenes ;  but  his  search  was  for 
miracles  and  prophets  rather  than  ideas,  and  if  he  tarried 
among  the  Essenes  it  was  because  he  had  come  upon  two 
great  men.  He  fell  to  considering  the  question  afresh,  and 
—  forgetful  of  Mathias's  admonitions  that  the  business  of 
man  is  to  meditate  on  the  nature  of  God  —  he  said  :  the 
Essenes  perform  no  miracles  and  do  not  prophesy ;  —  an  in- 
terruption to  Mathias's  loquacity  which  the  other  took  with 
a  better  grace  than  Joseph  had  expected  —  for  no  one  ever 
dared  before  to  interrupt  Mathias.  Joseph  had  done  so  acci- 
dentally and  expected  a  very  fine  reproof,  but  Mathias 
checked  his  indignation  and  told  Joseph  that  Manahem,  an 
Essene,  had  foreknowledge  of  future  events  given  to  him  by 
God  :  for  when  he  was  a  child  and  going  to  school,  Manahem 
saw  Herod  and  saluted  him  as  king  of  the  Jews  ;  and  Herod, 
thinking  the  boy  was  in  jest  or  did  not  know  him,  told  him 
he  was  but  a  private  citizen ;  whereat  Manahem  smiled  to 
himself,  and  clapping  Herod  on  the  backside  with  his  hand 
said  :  thou  wilt  be  king  and  wilt  begin  thy  reign  happily, 
for  God  finds  thee  worthy.  And  then,  as  if  enough  was  said 
on  this  subject,  Mathias  began  to  diverge  from  it,  mixing 
up  the  story  with  many  admonitions  and  philosophical  re- 
flections, very  wise  and  salutary,  but  not  what  Joseph  cared 
to  hear  at  that  moment.  He  was  in  no  wise  interested  at 
that  moment  to  hear  that  he  had  done  well  in  testing  all  the 
difi^erent  sects  of  the  Jews,  and  though  the  Essenes  were 
certainly  the  most  learned,  they  did  not  possess  the  whole 


84  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

truth.  With  a  determination  that  was  impossible  to  oppose, 
Mathias  said :  the  whole  truth  is  not  to  be  found,  even 
among  the  Essenes,  and,  my  good  friend,  I  would  not  en- 
courage in  you  a  hope  that  you  may  be  permitted  ever  during 
your  mortal  life  to  discover  the  whole  truth.  It  exists  not 
in  any  created  thing  :  but  glimpses  of  the  light  are  often  de- 
tected, now  here,  now  there,  shining  through  a  clouded  vase. 
But  the  simile,  he  added,  of  the  clouded  vase  gives  rise  to  the 
thought  that  the  light  resides  within  the  vase :  the  very 
contrary  of  which  is  the  case.  For  there  is  no  light  in  the 
vase  itself:  the  light  shines  from  beyond  the  skies,  and  I 
should  therefore  have  compared  man  to  a  crystal  itself  that 
catches  the  light  so  well  that  it  seems  to  our  eyes  to  be  the 
source  of  light,  which  is  not  true  in  principle  or  in  fact,  for 
in  the  darkness  a  crystal  is  as  dark  as  any  other  stone.  In 
such  part  do  I  explain  the  meaning  that  the  wicked  man, 
having  no  divine  irradiation,  is  without  instruction  of  God 
and  knowledge  of  God's  creations ;  he  is  as  a  fugitive  from 
the  divine  company,  and  cannot  do  else  than  hold  that  every- 
thing is  created  from  the  world  to  be  again  dissolved  into  the 
world.     And  being  no  better  than  a  follower  of  Heraclitus 

But  who  is  Heraclitus .?  Joseph  asked. 

A  clouded  face  was  turned  upon  Joseph,  and  for  some 
moments  the  sage  could  not  collect  his  thoughts  sufficiently 
to  answer  him.  Who  is  Heraclitus  ?  he  repeated,  and  then, 
with  a  general  interest  in  his  pupil,  he  ran  off  a  concise  ex- 
position of  that  philosopher's  doctrine  —  a  mistake  on  his 
part,  as  he  was  quick  enough  to  admit  to  himself;  for  though 
he  reduced  his  statement  to  the  lowest  limits,  it  awakened 
in  Joseph  an  interest  so  lively  that  he  felt  himself  obliged 
to  expose  this  philosopher's  fallacies ;  and  in  doing  this  he 
was  drawn  away  from  his  subject,  which  was  unfortunate. 
The  hour  was  near  by  when  the  Essenes  would,  according  to 
rule,  retire  to  their  cells  for  rneditation,  and  —  foreseeing 
that  he  could  not  rid  himself  of  the  burden  which  Joseph's 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  85 

question  imposed  upon  him  —  he  abandoned  Heraclitus  in 
a  last  refutation,  to  warn  Joseph  that  he  must  not  resume 
his  questions. 

But  if  I  do  not  ask  at  once,  my  chance  is  gone  for  ever; 
for  your  discourse  is  Hke  the  clouds,  always  taking  new  shapes, 
Joseph  pleaded.  In  dread  lest  all  be  forgotten,  I  repeat  to 
myself  what  you  have  said,  and  so  lose  a  great  deal  for  a  cer- 
tain remembrance. 

Joseph's  manifest  delight  in  his  statement  of  the  doctrines 
of  Heraclitus  and  his  subsequent  refutation  of  the  heathen 
philosopher,  caused  Mathias  to  forget  temporarily  certain 
ideas  that  he  had  been  fostering  for  some  days  —  that  God, 
being  the  designer  and  maker  of  all  things,  and  their  governor, 
is  likewise  the  creator  of  time  itself,  for  he  is  the  father  of 
its  father,  and  the  father  of  time  is  the  world,  which  made 
its  own  mother  —  the  creation.  So  that  time  stands  towards 
God  in  the  relation  of  a  grandson ;  for  this  world  is  a  young 
son  of  God.  On  these  things  the  sage's  thoughts  had  been 
running  for  some  days  past,  and  he  would  have  liked  to  have 
expounded  his  theory  to  Joseph  :  that  nothing  is  future  to 
God  :  creations  and  the  very  boundaries  of  time  are  subject. 

He  said  much  more,  but  Joseph  did  not  hear.  He  was 
too  busy  memorising  what  he  had  already  heard,  and  during 
long  hours  he  strove  to  come  to  terms  with  what  he  remem- 
bered, but  in  vain.  The  more  he  thought,  the  less  clear  did 
it  seem  to  him  that  in  eternity  there  is  neither  past  nor 
future,  that  in  eternity  everything  is  present.  Mathias's 
very  words;  but  when  he  said  them,  there  seemed  to  be 
something  behind  the  words ;  while  listening,  it  seemed  to 
Joseph  that  sight  had  been  given  to  him,  but  his  eyes  proved 
too  weak  to  bear  the  too  great  illumination,  and  he  had  been 
obliged  to  cover  them  with  his  hands,  shutting  out  a  great 
deal  so  that  he  might  see  just  a  little  ...  as  it  were  between 
his  fingers.  As  we  think  of  God  only  under  the  form  of  light, 
it  seemed  to  him  that  the  revelation  entered  into  him  by  his 


86  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

eyes  rather  than  by  his  ears.  He  would  return  to  the  sage 
every  day,  but  what  if  he  were  not  able  to  remember,  if  it 
were  all  to  end  in  words  with  nothing  behind  the  words  ? 
The  sage  said  that  in  a  little  while  the  discourses  would  not 
seem  so  elusive  and  evanescent.  At  present  they  seemed  to 
Joseph  like  the  mist  on  the  edge  of  a  stream,  and  he  strove 
against  the  belief  that  a  philosopher  is  like  a  man  who  sets 
out  to  walk  after  the  clouds. 

Such  a  belief  being  detestable,  he  resolved  to  rid  himself 
of  it,  and  Mathias  would  help  him,  he  was  sure,  and  in  this 
hope  he  confided  his  life  to  him,  going  back  to  the  night  when 
Samuel  appeared  to  him,  and  recounting  his  father's  business 
and  character,  introducing  the  different  tutors  that  were 
chosen  for  him,  and  his  own  choice  of  Azariah,  to  whom  he 
owed  his  knowledge  of  Greek.  To  all  of  which  the  philoso- 
pher listened  complacently  enough,  merely  asking  if  Azariah 
shared  the  belief  prevalent  in  Galilee  that  the  world  was 
drawing  to  a  close.  On  hearing  that  he  did,  he  seemed  to 
lose  interest  in  Joseph's  story  of  Azariah's  relations  to  his 
neighbours,  nor  did  he  seem  unduly  afflicted  at  hearing  that 
only  the  most  orthodox  views  were  acceptable  in  Galilee. 
His  indifference  was  disheartening,  but  being  now  deep  in 
his  biography,  Joseph  related  perforce  the  years  he  spent 
doing  his  father's  business  in  northern  Syria,  hoping  as  he 
told  his  story  to  awaken  the  sage's  interest  in  his  visit  to 
Jerusalem.  The  Sadducees  did  not  believe  that  Jahveh  had 
resolved  to  end  the  world  and  might  be  expected  to  appear 
in  his  chariot  surrounded  by  angels  blowing  trumpets,  bidding 
the  dead  to  rise.  But  the  Pharisees  did  believe  in  the  resur- 
rection —  unfortunately  including  that  of  the  corruptible 
body,  which  seemed  to  present  many  difficulties.  He  was 
about  to  enter  on  an  examination  of  these  difficulties,  but  the 
philosopher  moved  them  aside  contemptuously,  and  Joseph 
understood  that  he  could  not  demean  himself  to  the  point 
of  discussing  the  fallacies  of  the  Pharisees,  who,  Joseph  said, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  87 

hope  to  stem  the  just  anger  of  God  on  the  last  day  by  minute 
observances  of  the  Sabbath.  Mathias  raised  his  eyes,  and 
it  was  a  revulsion  of  feeling,  Joseph  continued,  against 
hypocrisy  and  fornication,  that  put  me  astride  my  mule  as 
soon  as  I  heard  of  the  Essenes,  the  most  enlightened  sect 
of  the  Jews  in  Palestine,  That  you  should  be  among  them  is 
testimony  of  their  enlightenment.  .  .  .  Mathias  raised  his 
hand,  and  Joseph's  face  dropped  into  an  expression  of  atten- 
tion. Mathias  was  willing  to  accede  that  much,  but  certain 
circumlocutions  in  his  language  led  Joseph  to  suspect  that 
Mathias  was  not  altogether  satisfied  with  the  Essenes.  He 
seemed  to  think  that  they  were  too  prone  to  place  mere 
piety  above  philosophy:  a  mistake;  for  our  intellect  being 
the  highest  gift  we  have  received  from  God,  it  follows  that 
we  shall  please  him  best  by  using  it  assiduously.  He  spoke 
about  the  prayers  before  sunrise  and  asked  Joseph  if  they  did 
not  seem  to  him  somewhat  trite  and  trivial  and  if  he  did  not 
think  that  the  moment  would  be  more  profitably  spent  by 
instituting  a  comparison  between  the  light  of  the  intellect 
and  that  of  the  sun  .'' 

Mathias  turned  to  Joseph,  and  waited  for  him  to  confess 
his  perplexities.  But  it  was  hard  to  confess  to  Mathias 
that  philosophy  was  useless  if  the  day  of  judgment  were 
at  hand  !  He  dared  not  speak  against  philosophy  and  it 
was  a  long  time  before  Mathias  guessed  his  trouble,  but 
as  soon  as  it  dawned  on  him  that  Joseph  was  in  doubt  as 
to  the  utility  of  philosophy,  his  face  assumed  so  stern  an 
expression  that  Joseph  began  to  feel  that  Mathias  looked 
upon  him  as  a  fool.  It  may  have  been  that  Joseph's  conster- 
nation, so  apparent  on  his  face,  restored  Mathias  into  a 
kindly  humour.  Be  that  as  it  may,  Mathias  pointed  out, 
and  with  less  contempt  than  Joseph  expected,  that  the  day 
of  judgment  and  philosophy  had  nothing  in  common.  We 
should  never  cease  to  seek  after  wisdom,  he  said.  Joseph 
concurred.     It  was  not,  however,  pleasing  to  Joseph  to  hear 


88  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

prophecy  spoken  of  as  the  outpourings  of  madmen,  but  — 
having  in  mind  the  contemptuous  glance  that  would  fall 
upon  him  if  he  dared  to  put  prophecy  above  philosophy  — 
he  held  his  peace,  venturing  only  to  remark  that  no  prophets 
were  found  in  Judea  for  some  hundreds  of  years.  Except 
Manahem,  he  added  hurriedly.  But  his  remembrance  of 
Manahem  did  not  appease  the  philosopher,  who  dropped  his 
eyes  on  Joseph  and  fixed  them  on  him.  The  moment  was  one 
of  agony  for  Joseph.  And  as  if  he  remembered  suddenly 
that  Joseph  was  only  just  come  into  the  district  of  the  Jordan, 
Mathias  told  with  some  ironical  laughter  that  the  neighbour- 
hood was  full  of  prophets,  as  ignorant  and  as  ugly  as  hyenas. 
They  live,  he  said,  in  the  caves  along  the  western  coasts  of 
the  Salt  Lake,  growling  and  snarling  over  the  world,  which 
they  seem  to  think  rotten  and  ready  for  them  to  devour. 
Or  else  they  issue  forth  and  entice  the  ignorant  multitude 
into  the  Jordan,  so  that  they  may  the  more  easily  plunge 
them  under  the  flood.  But  of  what  use  to  speak  of  these 
crazed  folk,  when  there  are  so  many  subjects  of  which  phi- 
losophy may  gracefully  treat  ? 

Prophets  in  caves  about  the  Salt  Lake !  Joseph  muttered  ; 
and  a  great  desire  awakened  in  him  to  see  them.  But 
you're  not  going  in  search  of  these  wretched  men  ?  Mathias 
asked,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  contempt,  and  Joseph  felt 
that  Mathias  had  already  decided  that  all  intellectual  com- 
panionship was  henceforth  impossible  between  them.  He 
was  tempted  to  temporise.  It  was  not  to  discuss  the  resur- 
rection that  he  desired  to  see  these  men,  but  for  curiosity; 
and  during  the  long  walk  he  would  meditate  on  Mathias's 
doctrines.  .  .  .  Mathias  did  not  answer  him,  and  Joseph, 
seeing  him  cast  away  in  philosophy  and  unable  to  advise  him 
further,  went  to  the  president  to  ask  for  permission  to  absent 
himself  for  two  days  from  the  cenoby,  a  permission  that  was 
granted  willingly  when  the  object  of  the  absence  was  duly 
related. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THERE  was  one  John  preaching  in  the  country  about 
the  Jordan :  the  Baptist,  they  call  him,  the  president  said. 
But  go,  Joseph,  and  see  the  prophets  for  thyself,  I  shall 
be  rare  glad  to  hear  what  thou  hast  to  say !  And  he  pressed 
Joseph's  hand,  sending  him  off  in  good  cheer.  Banu,  ask 
for  Banu !  were  the  last  words  he  called  after  him,  and 
Joseph  hoped  the  ferryman  would  be  able  to  point  out  the 
way  to  him.  Oh  yes,  I  know  the  prophet;  the  ferryman 
answered  :  a  disciple  of  John,  that  all  the  people  are  following. 
But  there  be  a  bit  of  a  walk  before  thee,  and  one  that'll  last 
thee  till  dusk,  for  Banu  has  been  that  bothered  by  visits 
these  times,  that  he  has  gone  up  the  desert  out  of  the  way, 
for  he  be  preparing  himself  these  whiles.  For  what  ?  Joseph 
asked.  The  ferryman  did  not  know;  he  told  that  John 
was  not  baptizing  that  morning,  but  for  why  he  did  not  know. 
As  like  as  not  he  be  waiting  for  the  river  to  lower,  he  said. 
At  which  Joseph  had  half  a  mind  to  leave  Banu  for  John ; 
but  a  passenger  was  calling  the  ferryman  from  the  opposite 
bank  and  he  was  left  with  incomplete  information  and 
wandered  on  in  doubt  whether  to  return  in  quest  of  the 
Baptist  or  make  the  disciple  his  shift. 

The  way  pointed  out  to  him  lay  through  the  desert,  and 
to  find  Banu's  cave  without  guidance  would  not  be  easy, 
and  after  having  found  and  interrogated  him  the  way  would 
seem  longer  to  return  than  to  come.  But,  having  gone  so 
far,  he  could  not  do  else  than  attempt  the  hot  weary  search. 
And  it  will  be  one  !  he  said,  as  he  picked  his  way  through  the 
bushes  and  brambles  that  contrive  to  subsist  somehow  in 

89 


90  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

the  flat  sandy  waste  lying  at  the  head  of  the  lake.  But  as 
he  proceeded  into  the  desert  these  signs  of  life  vanished,  and 
he  came  upon  a  region  of  craggy  and  intricate  rocks  rising 
sometimes  into  hills  and  sometimes  breaking  away  and  lit- 
tering the  plain  with  rubble.  The  desert  is  never  completely 
desert  for  long,  and  on  turning  westward  as  he  was  directed, 
Joseph  caught  sight  of  the  hill  which  he  had  been  told  to  look 
out  for  —  he  could  not  miss  it,  for  the  evening  sun  lit  up  a 
high  scarp,  and  on  coming  to  the  end  of  a  third  mile  the  desert 
began  to  look  a  little  less  desert,  brambles  began  again. 
Banu  could  not  be  far  away.  But  Joseph  did  not  dare  to  go 
farther.  He  had  been  walking  for  many  hours,  and  even  if 
he  were  to  meet  Banu  he  could  not  speak  to  him,  so  closely 
did  his  tongue  cleave  to  the  sides  of  his  mouth.  But  these 
brambles  betoken  water,  he  said ;  and  on  coming  round  a 
certain  rock  bulging  uncouth  from  the  hillside,  he  discovered 
a  trickle,  and  a  few  paces  distant,  Banu,  ugly  as  a  hyena  and 
more  ridiculous  than  the  animal,  for  —  having  no  shirt  to 
cover  his  nakedness  —  he  had  tressed  a  garland  of  leaves 
about  his  waist !  Yet  not  so  ugly  at  second  sight  as  at  first, 
for  he  sees  God,  Joseph  said  to  himself;  and  he  waited  for 
Banu  to  rise  from  his  knees. 

Even  hither  do  they  pursue  me,  Banu's  eyes  seemed  to 
say,  while  his  fingers  modestly  rearranged  his  garland ;  and 
Joseph,  who  began  to  dread  the  hermit,  begged  to  have 
the  spring  pointed  out  to  him  that  he  might  drink.  Banu 
pointed  to  it,  and  Joseph  knelt  and  drank,  and  after  drink- 
ing he  was  in  better  humour  to  tell  Banu  that  Mathias,  the 
great  philosopher  from  Alexandria,  scorned  the  prophecies 
that  the  end  of  the  world  could  not  be  delayed  much  longer. 
And,  as  John  is  not  baptizing  these  days,  I  thought  I'd 
come  and  ask  if  we  had  better  begin  to  prepare  for  the 
resurrection  and  the  judgment.  On  hearing  Joseph's  reasons 
for  his  visit,  the  hermit  stood  with  dilated  eyes,  as  if  about 
to  speak.     But  he  did  not  speak;     and  Joseph  asked  him 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  91 

what  would  become  of  the  world  after  God  destroyed  it. 
Before  answering,  Banu  stooped  down,  and  having  filled 
his  hand  with  sand  and  gravel  he  said  :  God  will  fill  his  hand 
with  earth,  but  not  this  time  to  make  a  man  and  woman, 
but  out  of  each  of  his  hands  will  come  a  full  nation,  and  these 
he  will  put  into  full  possession  of  the  earth,  for  his  chosen 
people  will  not  repent.  .  .  . 

But  the  ferryman  told  me  that  John  gathered  many 
together  and  was  baptizing  in  Jordan .?  Joseph  inquired. 
To  which  Banu  answered  naught,  but  stood  looking  at 
Joseph,  who  could  scarce  bring  himself  to  look  at  Banu, 
though  he  felt  himself  to  be  in  sore  need  of  some  prophetic 
confirmation  of  the  date  of  the  judgment.  Is  John  the 
Messiah,  come  to  preach  that  God  is  near  and  that  we  must 
repent  in  time  ?  he  asked ;  to  which  the  hermit  replied  that 
the  Messiah  would  have  many  forerunners,  and  one  of  these 
would  give  his  earthly  life  as  a  peace-offering,  but  enraged 
Jahveh  would  not  accept  it  as  sufficient  and  would  return 
with  the  Messiah  and  destroy  the  world.  I  am  waiting 
here  till  God  bids  me  arise  and  preach  to  men,  and  the  call 
will  be  soon,  Banu  said,  for  God's  wrath  is  even  now  at  its 
height.  But  do  thou  go  hence  to  John,  who  has  been  called 
to  the  Jordan,  and  get  baptism  from  him.  But  John  is  not 
baptizing  these  days,  the  river  being  in  flood,  Joseph  cried 
after  him.  That  flood  will  pass  away,  Banu  answered,  be- 
fore the  great  and  overwhelming  flood  arises.  Will  the 
world  be  destroyed  by  water  ?  At  this  question  Banu  turned 
towards  the  hillside,  like  one  that  deemed  his  last  exhorta- 
tion to  be  enough,  and  who  desired  an  undisturbed  posses- 
sion of  the  solitude.  But  at  the  entrance  of  the  cave  he 
stopped  :  The  track  is  easy  to  lose  after  nightfall,  he  said, 
and  panthers  will  be  about  in  search  of  gazelles.  Thou 
wouldst  do  well  to  remain  with  me  :  my  cave  is  secure  against 
wild  beasts.  Look  behind  thee  :  how  dark  are  the  rocks  and 
hills!     Joseph  cast  his  eyes  in  the  direction  of  Jericho  and 


92  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

thanked  God  for  having  put  a  kind  thought  into  the  hermit's 
mind,  for  the  landscape  was  gloomy  enough  already,  and  an 
hour  hence  he  would  be  stumbling  over  a  panther  in  the 
dark,  and  the  sensation  of  teeth  clutching  at  his  throat  and 
of  hind  claws  tearing  out  his  belly  banished  from  his  mind 
all  thoughts  of  the  unpleasantness  of  passing  a  night  in  a 
narrow  cave  with  Banu,  whom  he  helped  to  close  the  entrance 
with  a  big  stone  and  to  pile  up  other  stones  about  the  big 
stone  making  themselves  safe,  so  Banu  said,  from  everything 
except  perhaps  a  bear. 

The  thought  of  the  bear  that  might  scrape  aside  the  stone 
kept  Joseph  awake  listening  to  Banu  snoring,  and  to  the 
jackals  that  barked  all  night  long.  They  are  quarrelling 
among  themselves,  Banu  said,  turning  over,  for  the  jackals 
succeeded  in  waking  him,  quarrelling  over  some  gazelle 
they've  caught.  A  moment  after,  he  was  asleep  again,  and 
Joseph,  despite  his  fear  of  the  wild  beasts,  must  have  dozed 
for  a  little  while,  for  he  started  up,  his  hair  on  end.  A  bear  ! 
a  bear !  he  cried,  without  awakening  Banu,  and  he  listened 
to  a  scratching  and  a  sniffling  round  the  stones  with  which 
they  had  blocked  the  entrance  to  the  cave.  Or  a  panther, 
he  said  to  himself.  The  animal  moved  away,  and  then 
Joseph  lay  awake  hour  after  hour,  dropping  to  sleep  and 
awakening  again  and  again. 

About  an  hour  after  sunrise,  Banu  awakened  him  and 
asked  him  to  help  him  to  roll  the  stones  aside ;  which  Joseph 
did,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  in  the  dusk  he  turned  out  of 
his  pockets  a  few  crusts  and  some  cheese  made  out  of  ewe's 
milk,  and  offered  to  share  the  food  with  his  host ;  but  Banu, 
pointing  to  a  store  of  locusts,  put  some  of  the  insects  into 
his  mouth  and  told  Joseph  that  his  vow  was  not  to  eat  any 
other  food  till  God  called  him  forth  to  preach ;  which  would 
be,  he  thought,  a  few  days  before  the  judgment :  a  view  that 
Joseph  did  not  try  to  combat,  nor  did  he  eat  his  bread  and 
cheese  before  him,  lest  the  sight  of  it  should  turn  the  prophet's 


THE  BROOK  KERITH 


93 


stomach  from  the  locusts.  It  was  distressing  to  watch  him 
chewing  them ;  they  were  not  easy  to  swallow,  but  he  got 
them  down  at  last  with  the  aid  of  some  water  obtained  from 
the  source,  and  during  breakfast  his  talk  was  all  the  while 
of  the  day  of  judgment  and  the  anger  of  God,  who  would 
destroy  Israel  and  build  up  another  nation  that  would  obey 
him.  It  would  be  three  or  four  days  before  the  judgment 
that  God  would  call  him  out  to  preach,  he  repeated ;  and 
Joseph  was  waiting  to  hear  how  far  distant  were  these  days  ? 
A  month,  a  year,  belike  some  years,  for  God's  patience  is. 
great.  He  stopped  speaking  suddenly,  and  throwing  out 
his  arms  he  cried  out :  he  has  come,  he  has  come  !  He  whom 
the  world  is  waiting  for.  Baptize  him  !  Baptize  him  !  He 
whom  the  world  is  waiting  for  has  come. 

But  for  whom  is  the  world  waiting  ?  Joseph  asked ;  and 
Banu  answered :  hasten  to  the  Jordan,  and  find  him  whom 
thou  seekest. 


CHAPTER  IX 

I  SHALL  pray  that  the  Lord  call  thee  out  of  the  desert 
to  join  thy  voice  with  those  already  preaching,  Joseph  cried  ; 
and  the  hermit  answered  him  :  let  us  praise  the  Lord  for 
having  sent  us  the  new  prophet !  But  do  thou  hasten  to 
John,  he  called  after  Joseph,  who  ran  and  walked  alternately, 
striving  up  every  hillock  for  sight  of  the  ferryman's  boat 
which  might  well  be  waiting  on  this  side  for  him  to  step  on 
board ;  Joseph  being  in  a  hurry,  it  would  certainly  be  lying 
under  the  opposite  bank,  the  ferryman  asleep  in  it,  and  so 
soundly  that  no  cries  would  awaken  him. 

But  Joseph's  fortune  was  kinder  than  he  anticipated,  for 
on  arriving  at  the  Jordan  he  found  himself  at  the  very  spot 
where  the  ferryman  had  tied  his  boat  and  —  napping  — 
awaited  a  passenger.  So  rousing  him  with  a  great  shout, 
Joseph  leaped  on  board  and  told  the  old  fellow  to  pull  his 
hardest ;  but  having  been  pulling  across  the  Jordan  for  nigh 
fifty  years,  the  ferryman  was  little  disposed  to  alter  his  stroke 
for  the  pleasure  of  the  young  man,  who,  he  remembered,  had 
not  paid  him  over-liberally  yester-evening;  and  in  the  mid- 
stream he  rested  on  his  oars,  so  that  he  might  the  better  dis- 
cern the  great  multitude  gathered  on  yon  bank.  For  bap- 
tism, he  said ;  or  making  ready  to  go  home  after  baptism, 
he  added ;  and  letting  his  boat  drift,  sat  discoursing  on  the 
cold  of  the  water,  which  he  said  was  colder  than  he  ever 
knew  it  before  at  this  season  of  the  year :  remarks  that 
Joseph  considered  well  enough  in  themselves,  but  out  of 
his  humour.  So  ye  be  craving  for  baptism,  the  ferryman 
said,  and  looked  as  if  he  did  not  care  a  wild  fig  whether 

94 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  95 

Joseph  got  it  that  morning  or  missed  it.  But  there  was  no 
use  arguing  with  the  ferryman,  who  after  a  long  stare  fell 
to  his  oars,  but  so  leisurely  that  Joseph  seized  one  of  them 
and  —  putting  his  full  strength  upon  it  —  turned  the  boat's 
head  up-stream. 

There  be  no  landing  up-stream  anywhere,  so  loose  my 
oars  or  I'll  leave  them  to  thee,  the  ferryman  growled,  and  we 
shall  be  twirling  about  stream  till  midday  and  after.  But 
I  can  row,  Joseph  said.  Then  row!  and  the  ferryman  put 
the  other  oar  into  his  hand.  But  we  shall  be  quicker  across 
if  thou'lt  leave  them  to  me.  And  as  this  seemed  to  Joseph 
the  truth,  he  fell  back  into  his  seat,  and  did  not  get  out  of 
it  till  the  boat  touched  the  bank.  But  he  jumped  too  soon 
and  fell  into  the  mud,  causing  much  laughter  along  the  bank, 
and  not  a  few  ribald  remarks,  some  saying  that  he  needed 
baptism  more  than  those  that  had  gotten  it.  But  a  hand 
was  reached  out  to  him,  and  that  he  should  ask  for  the 
Baptist  before  thinking  of  his  clothes  showed  the  multi- 
tude that  he  must  be  another  prophet,  which  he  denied, 
calling  on  heaven  to  witness  that  he  was  not  one :  where- 
upon he  was  mistaken  for  a  great  sinner,  and  heard  that 
however  great  his  repentance  it  would  avail  him  nothing, 
for  the  Baptist  was  gone  away  with  his  disciple.  Joseph, 
thinking  that  he  had  left  the  Baptist's  disciple  in  the  desert, 
began  to  argue  that  this  could  not  be,  and  raved  inconti- 
nently at  the  man,  bringing  others  round  him,  till  he  was 
hemmed  into  a  circle  of  ridicule.  Among  the  multitude 
many  were  of  the  same  faith  as  Joseph  himself,  and  these 
drew  him  out  of  the  circle  and  explained  to  him  that  the 
Baptist  baptized  in  the  river  for  several  hours,  till  —  unable 
to  bear  the  cold  any  longer  —  he  had  gone  away,  his  teeth 
chattering,  with  Jesus  the  Essene. 

Jesus  the  Essene  !  Joseph  repeated,  but  before  he  could 
inquire  further,  men  came  running  along  the  bank,  saying 
they  had  sins  to  repent,  and  on  hearing  that  the  Baptist 


96  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

was  gone  and  would  not  return  that  day,  they  began  to  tell 
each  other  stories  of  the  great  cloud  that  was  seen  in  the  east, 
bearing  within  it  a  chariot;  and  from  the  chariot  angels 
were  seen  descending  all  the  morning  with  flaming  swords 
in  their  hands.  Get  thee  baptized !  they  shouted,  and 
clamoured,  and  pushed  to  and  fro  —  a  thronging,  gesticulating 
multitude  of  brown  faces  and  hooked  noses,  of  bony  shoulders 
and  striped  shirts.  Get  thee  baptized  before  sunset !  every- 
body was  crying.  And  Joseph  watched  the  veils  floating 
from  their  turbans  as  they  fled  southwards.  On  what  er- 
rand ?  he  asked ;  in  search  of  the  Baptist  or  the  new  disciple 
Jesus  }  Not  the  new  disciple,  was  the  answer  he  got  back ; 
for  Jesus  leaves  baptism  to  John.  But  why  doesn't  Jesus 
baptize  ?  Joseph  asked,  since  he  is  a  disciple  of  the  Baptist. 
If  baptism  be  good  for  him,  it  is  good  enough  for  another. 
And  so  the  multitude  seemed  to  think,  and  were  confounded 
till  one  amongst  them  said  that  Jesus  might  not  be  endowed 
with  the  gift  of  baptism ;  or  belike  have  accepted  baptism 
from  John  for  a  purpose,  it  having  been  prophesied  that 
the  Messiah  would  have  a  forerunner.  But  who,  asked  many 
voices  together,  has  said  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  .?  some 
maintaining  that  Jesus  was  the  lesser  prophet.  But  this 
contention  was  not  agreeable  to  all,  some  having,  for  reasons 
unknown  to  Joseph,  ranged  themselves  already  alongside 
of  Jesus,  believing  him  to  be  greater  than  John,  yet  not 
the  final  prophet  promised  to  Israel.  And  these  came  to 
blows  with  the  others,  who  looked  upon  John  as  the  Messiah, 
and  Jesus  as  the  one  whom  John  had  called  to  his  standard  : 
a  recruit  —  nothing.  Skinny  fists  were  striving  in  the  air 
and  —  thrusting  himself  between  two  disputants  —  Joseph 
begged  them  to  tell  him  if  Jesus,  John's  disciple,  was  from  the 
cenoby  I  Yea,  yea,  he  heard  from  all  sides ;  the  shepherd 
of  the  brotherhood  —  that  one  who  follows  their  flocks  over 
the  hills;  but  not  being  sure  of  his  mission,  he  has  gone  into 
the  desert  to  wait  for  a  sign.     An  Essene,  but  one  that  was 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  97 

seldom  in  the  cenoby,  more  often  to  be  met  on  the  hills  with 
his  flocks.  A  shepherd  ?  Joseph  asked.  Yea,  and  it  was 
among  the  hills  that  John  met  him,  and  seeing  a  prophet 
in  him  spoke  to  him,  and  Jesus,  seeing  that  another  prophet 
was  risen  up  in  Israel,  had  thrown  his  flute  away  and  gone  to 
the  president  to  ask  for  leave  to  preach  the  baptism  of 
repentance  unto  men,  for  the  grand  day  is  at  hand.  Joseph 
having  heard  this  before,  heeded  only  tidings  of  the  new 
prophet,  when  a  woman  pressing  forward  shouted  :  a  pleasant 
voice  to  hear  on  the  mountain-side,  said  she;  and  another 
added  :  the  hills  will  seem  lonely  without  his  gait.  A  great 
slinger,  cried  a  third.  But  why  did  he  come  to  John  for 
baptism,  knowing  himself  to  be  the  greater  prophet  ?  A 
question  that  started  them  all  wrangling  again,  and  crying 
one  against  the  other  that  repentance  was  necessary,  or  else 
the  Lord  would  desert  them  or  choose  another  race. 

These  are  irksome  gossips,  a  man  said  to  Joseph;  but 
come  with  me  and  I'll  tell  thee  much  about  him.  No  better 
shepherd  than  he  ever  ranged  the  hills.  I  wouldn't  have  thee 
forget,  mate,  another  man  said,  that  he's  gone  without  leav- 
ing us  his  great  cure  for  scab.  True  for  thee,  mate,  answered 
the  first,  for  a  great  forgetfulness  has  been  on  him  this  time 
past.  ...  A  great  cure,  certainly,  which  he  might  have  left 
us.  And  the  twain  fell  to  discussing  their  several  cures  for 
scab.  Another  shepherd  came  by  and  passed  the  remark 
that  Jesus  knew  the  hills  like  one  born  among  them.  But 
neither  could  tell  whence  he  came,  nor  did  they  know  if  he 
brought  the  cure  for  scab  with  him,  or  learnt  it  at  the  cenoby. 
The  brotherhood  has  secrets  that  it  is  forbidden  to  tell. 
I  be  with  thee  on  this  matter,  said  another  shepherd,  that 
wherever  he  goes,  he'll  be  a  prize  to  a  master,  for  the  school- 
ing he  has  been  through  will  stand  to  him. 

The  last  of  this  chatter  that  came  to  Joseph's  ears  was 
that  Jesus  could  do  as  much  with  sheep  as  any  man  since 
Abraham,   and  —  satisfied  with   this  knowledge  —  he  took 

H 


98  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

his  leave  of  the  shepherds,  certain  that  Jesus  must  have  been 
among  the  Essenes  for  many  years  before  God  called  to 
him  to  leave  his  dogs  and  to  follow  John,  whom  he  began 
to  recognise  as  greater  than  himself,  but  whom  he  was  des- 
tined to  supersede,  as  John's  own  disciple,  Banu,  testified 
in  the  desert  before  Joseph's  own  eyes.  He  remembered  how 
Banu  saw  John  in  a  vision  plunging  Jesus  into  Jordan.  Of 
trickery  and  cozenage  there  was  none :  for  the  men  along 
these  banks  bore  witness  to  the  baptism  that  Joseph  would 
have  seen  for  himself  if  he  had  started  a  little  earlier;  nor 
could  the  Jesus  who  came  to  John  for  baptism  be  other  than 
the  young  shepherd  whom  Joseph  had  seen,  at  the  beginning 
of  his  novitiate,  walking  with  the  president  in  deep  converse ; 
the  president  apparently  trying  to  dissuade  him  from  some 
project.  Joseph  could  not  remember  having  heard  anyone 
speak  so  familiarly  or  so  authoritatively  to  the  president, 
a  man  some  twenty  years  older;  and  he  wondered  at  the 
time  how  a  mere  shepherd  from  the  hills  could  talk  on  an 
equality,  as  if  they  were  friends,  with  the  president.  The 
shepherd,  he  now  heard,  was  an  Essene,  but  he  lived  among 
the  hills,  and  Joseph  remembered  the  striped  shirt,  the  sheep- 
skin and  the  long  stride.  His  memory  continued  to  unfold, 
and  he  recalled  with  singular  distinctness  and  pleasure  the 
fine  broad  brow  curving  upwards  —  a  noble  arch,  he  said  to 
himself — the  eyes  distant  as  stars  and  the  underlying  sad- 
ness in  his  voice  oftentimes  soft  and  low,  but  with  a  cry  in  it ; 
and  he  remembered  how  their  eyes  met,  and  it  seemed  to 
Joseph  that  he  read  in  the  shepherd's  eyes  a  look  of  recogni- 
tion and  amity. 

And  now,  as  he  walked  from  the  Jordan  to  the  cenoby, 
he  remembered  how,  all  one  night  after  that  meeting,  dreams 
of  a  mutual  destiny  plagued  him :  how  he  slept  and  was 
awakened  by  visions  that  fled  from  his  mind  as  he  strove  to 
recall  them.  But  was  this  young  shepherd  the  one  that  Banu 
saw  John  baptize  in  the  Jordan  ?     It  cannot  be  else,  he  said 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  99 

to  himself.  But  whither  was  Jesus  gone  ?  Did  the  brethren 
know,  and  if  they  did  know  would  they  tell  him  ?  It 
was  against  the  rule  to  put  questions :  only  the  president 
could  tell  hirh,  and  he  dared  not  go  to  the  president.  Yet 
consult  somebody  he  must;  and  a  few  days  afterwards  he 
got  leave  again  to  visit  Banu,  whom  he  found  lying  in  his 
cave,  sick :  not  very  sick ;  though  having  eaten  nothing  for 
nearly  two  days  he  begged  Joseph  to  fetch  him  a  little  water 
from  the  rock;  which  Joseph  did.  After  having  drunk  a 
little  the  hermit  seemed  to  revive,  and  Joseph  related  how 
he  missed  Jesus  on  the  bank  and  had  no  tidings  of  him  except 
that  he  was  gone  into  the  desert  to  meditate.  But  the  desert 
is  large,  and  I  know  not  which  side  of  the  lake  he  has  chosen. 
To  which  Banu  answered  :  John  is  baptizing  in  the  Jordan ; 
get  thee  baptized  and  repent !  On  which  he  reached  out  his 
hand  to  his  store  of  locusts,  and  while  munching  a  few  he 
added  :  the  Baptist  is  greater  than  Jesus,  and  he  is  still  bap- 
tizing. Get  thee  to  Jordan  !  At  this  Joseph  took  offence  and 
returned  to  the  cenoby  with  the  intention  of  resuming  his 
teaching.  But  hewas  again  so  possessed  of  Jesus  that  he  could 
not  keep  his  mind  on  the  lesson  before  him  :  a  pupil  was  often 
forced  to  put  a  question  to  him  in  a  loud  voice,  and  perhaps  to 
repeat  it,  before  Joseph's  sick  reverie  was  sufficiently  broken 
for  him  to  formulate  an  answer.  The  pain  of  the  effort  to 
return  to  them  was  so  apparent  in  his  face  that  the  pupils  began 
to  be  sorry  for  him  and  kept  up  a  fire  of  questions,  to  save  him 
from  the  melancholy  abstractions  to  which  he  lately  seemed  to 
have  become  liable.  The  cause  of  his  grief  they  could  not 
guess,  but  he  was  not  sure  they  did  not  suspect  the  cause ;  and 
so  the  classes  in  which  he  heretofore  took  so  much  pleasure 
came  to  be  dreaded  by  him.  Every  moment  except  those  in 
which  he  sat  immersed  in  dreams  was  a  penance  and  a  pain ; 
and  at  last  he  pleaded  illness,  and  Mathias  took  his  class, 
leaving  Joseph  to  wander  as  far  as  he  liked  from  the  cenoby, 
which  had  become  hateful  to  him. 


loo  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

He  was  often  met  in  the  public  gardens  in  Jericho,  watch- 
ing the  people  going  by,  vaguely  interested  and  vaguely 
wearied  by  the  thoughts  that  their  different  shows  called  up 
in  his  mind  ;  and  he  was  always  painfully  conscious  that  noth- 
ing mattered  :  that  the  great  void  would  never  be  filled  up 
again  :  and  that  time  would  not  restore  to  him  a  single 
desire  or  hope.  Nothing  matters,  he  often  said  to  himself, 
as  he  sat  drawing  patterns  in  the  gravel  with  his  stick.  Yet 
he  had  no  will  to  die,  only  to  believe  he  was  the  victim  of 
some  powerful  malign  influence. 

One  day  as  he  sat  watching  the  wind  in  the  palm-trees,  it 
seemed  to  him  that  this  influence,  this  demon,  was  always 
moving  behind  his  life,  disturbing  and  setting  himself  to 
destroy  any  project  that  Joseph  might  form.  Another  day 
it  seemed  to  Joseph  that  the  demon  cast  a  net  over  him,  and 

that  —  entangled  in  the  meshes  —  he  was  being  drawn 

Somebody  spoke  to  him,  and  he  awoke  so  affrighted  that  the 
gossip  could  hardly  keep  himself  from  laughing  outright. 
If  the  end  of  the  world  were  at  hand,  let  the  end  come  to 
pass!  he  said;  but  he  did  not  go  to  John  for  baptism.  He 
knew  not  why,  only  that  he  could  not  rouse  himself!  And 
it  was  not  till  it  came  to  be  rumoured  in  Jericho  that  a  prophet 
was  gone  to  Egypt  to  learn  Greek  that  he  awoke  sufficiently 
to  ask  why  a  Jewish  prophet  needed  Greek.  The  answer 
he  got  was  that  the]  new  doctrine  required  a  knowledge  of 
Greek ;  Greek  being  a  world-wide  language,  and  the  doc- 
trine being  also  world-wide.  As  there  was  but  one  God 
for  all  the  world,  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  every 
man  might  hope  for  salvation,  be  he  Jew  or  Gentile.  It 
seemed  to  Joseph  that  this  doctrine  could  only  emanate  from 
the  young  shepherd  he  had  met  in  the  cenoby,  and  he  joined  a 
caravan,  and  for  fifteen  days  dreamed  of  the  meeting  that 
awaited  him  at  the  end  of  the  journey  —  and  of  the  delight- 
ful instruction  in  Greek  that  he  was  going  to  impart  to  Jesus. 
The  heights  of  Mount  Sinai  turned  his  thoughts  backward 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  loi 

only  for  a  moment,  and  he  fell  back  on  his  dream  of  Jesus, 
continuing  it  without  interruption  along  the  shell-strewn 
shores  of  the  Sea  of  Arabah,  on  and  on  into  the  peninsula, 
till  he  stepped  from  the  lurching  camel  into  the  great  cara- 
vanserai in  Alexandria. 

Without  exactly  expecting  to  find  Jesus  waiting  for  him 
in  the  street,  he  had  dreamed  of  meeting  him  somewhere  in 
the  city.  He  was  sure  he  would  recognise  that  lean  face, 
lit  with  brilliant  eyes,  in  any  crowd,  and  the  thought  of 
getting  news  of  Jesus  in  the  synagogues  in  some  sort  drowsed 
in  his  mind.  As  Jesus  did  not  happen  to  be  waiting  outside 
the  caravanserai,  Joseph  sought  him  from  synagogue  to  syna- 
gogue, without  getting  tidings  of  him  but  of  another,  for  the 
camel-drivers  at  Mount  Sinai  had  not  informed  him  wrongly  : 
a  young  Jew  had  passed  through  the  city  on  his  way  to  Athens, 
but  as  he  did  not  correspond  to  Joseph's  remembrances  of 
Jesus,  Joseph  did  not  deem  it  to  be  worth  his  while  to  follow 
this  Jew  to  Athens.  He  remained  in  Alexandria  without 
forming  any  resolutions,  seeking  Jesus  occasionally  in  the 
Jewish  quarters;  and  when  they  were  all  searched  he  re- 
turned to  the  synagogues  once  more  and  began  a  fresh  inqui- 
sition, but  very  soon  he  began  to  see  that  the  faces  about  him 
were  overspread  with  incredulous  looks  and  smiles,  especially 
when  he  related  that  his  friend  was  the  young  prophet  dis- 
covered by  John  among  the  hills  of  Judea,  tending  sheep. 

What  tale  is  this  that  he  tells  us  ?  the  Jews  asked  apart; 
but  finding  Joseph  well  instructed  and  of  agreeable  presence 
and  manner,  they  made  much  of  him.  If  Galilee  could  pro- 
duce such  a  man  as  Joseph,  Galilee  was  going  up  in  the  world. 
We  will  receive  thee  and  gladly,  but  speak  no  more  to  us  of 
thy  shepherd  prophet,  and  betake  thyself  to  our  schools  of 
philosophy,  which  thou'lt  enjoy,  for  thy  Greek  is  excellent. 
But  who  taught  thee  Greek  ?  And  while  Joseph  was  telling 
of  Azariah,  little  smiles  played  about  his  eyes  and  mouth, 
for  the  incredulity  of  the  Alexandrian  Jews  had  begotten 


I02  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Incredulity  in  him,  and  he  began  to  see  how  much  absurdity 
his  adventure  made  show  for.  The  Alexandrian  Jews 
liked  him  better  for  submitting  himself  so  cheerfully  to  their 
learning  and  their  ideas,  and  he  became  a  conspicuous  and 
interesting  person,  without  knowledge  that  he  was  becoming 
one.  Nor  was  it  till  having  moulded  himself,  or  been 
moulded,  into  a  new  shape  that  he  began  to  think  that  he 
might  have  done  better  if  he  had  left  the  moulding  to  God. 
His  conscience  told  him  this  and  reminded  him  how  he 
vowed  himself  to  Jesus,  whom  Banu  saw  in  a  vision.  All  the 
same  he  remained,  not  unnaturally,  a  young  man  enticed 
by  the  charm  of  the  Greek  language,  and  the  science  of  the 
Alexandrian  philosophers,  who  were  every  one  possessed  of 
Mathias's  skill  in  dialectics.  They  all  knew  Mathias  and 
were  imbued  with  much  respect  for  him  as  a  teacher,  and  were 
willing  to  instruct  Joseph  in  psychology,  taking  up  the  lesson 
where  Mathias  closed  the  book.  So,  putting  his  conscience 
behind  him,  Joseph  listened,  his  ears  wide  open  and  his  mind 
alert  to  understand  that  it  was  a  child's  story  —  the  report  in 
Jerusalem  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  approaching,  and 
that  God  would  remould  it  afresh  —  as  if  God  were  human 
like  ourselves,  animated  with  like  business  and  desires ! 
He  heard  for  the  first  time  that  to  arrive  at  any  clear  notion 
of  divinity  we  must  begin  by  stripping  divinity  of  all  human 
attributes,  and  when  every  one  is  sloughed,  what  remains  ? 
Divinity,  Joseph  answered ;  and  his  instructor  bowed  his 
head,  saying :  here  is  no  matter  for  reflection. 

The  philosophers  were  surprised  to  learn  that  in  Jerusalem 
many  still  retained  the  belief  that  God  was  no  more  than  a 
man  of  colossal  stature,  angry,  revengeful,  and  desirous  of 
burnt  offerings  and  of  prayers  which  were  little  better;  that 
the  corruptible  body  could  be  raised  from  the  dead  and 
given  back  to  the  soul  for  a  dwelling.  That  Jerusalem  had 
fallen  so  low  in  intellect  was  not  known  to  them  ;  and  Joseph, 
feeling  he  was  making  a  noise  in  the  world,  admitted  that 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  103 

despite  the  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language  he  accepted  the 
theory  that  the  soul  was  created  before  the  body  and  waited 
in  a  sort  of  dim  hall,  hanging  like  a  bat,  for  the  creation  of 
the  body  which  it  was  predestined  to  descend  into,  till  the 
death  of  the  body  released  it.  He  was,  however,  now  willing 
to  believe  that  the  souls  of  all  the  wise  men  mentioned  in 
the  books  of  Moses  were  sent  down  to  earth  as  to  a  colony ; 
great  souls  could  not  abide  like  bats  in  the  darkness,  but  are 
ever  desirous  of  contemplation  and  learning.  And  on  pur- 
suing this  thought  in  the  Greek  language,  which  lends  itself 
to  subtle  shades  of  thought,  he  discovered  that  there  are 
three  zones :  the  first  zone  is  reason,  the  second  passion  and 
the  third  appetite.  And  this  his  first  psychological  dis- 
covery was  approved  by  his  teacher,  and  many  months  were 
passed  over  in  agreeable  exercises  of  the  mind  of  like  nature, 
interrupted  only  by  letters  from  his  father,  asking  him  when 
he  proposed  to  return  home. 

After  reading  one  of  these  letters,  his  unhappiness  lasted 
sometimes  for  a  whole  day,  and  it  was  revived  many  times 
during  the  week ;  but  philosophy  enabled  him  to  resist  the 
voice  of  conscience  still  a  little  while,  and  even  a  letter  re- 
lating the  death  of  his  grandmother  did  not  decide  his  de- 
parture. It  seemed  at  first  to  have  decided  him,  and  he  told 
all  his  friends  that  he  was  leaving  with  the  next  caravan. 
But  of  what  use,  he  asked  himself,  for  me  to  return  to  Galilee  ? 
Granny  is  in  her  grave  :  could  I  bring  her  back  to  life  I  would 
return  !  So  he  remained  in  Egypt  for  some  time  longer,  and 
what  enforced  his  return  were  the  long  plains,  in  which  oxen 
drew  the  plough  from  morning  till  evening ;  and  he  had  begun 
to  long  for  clouds  and  for  the  hills,  and  the  desire  to  escape 
from  the  plain  grew  stronger  every  day  till  at  last  he  could 
not  do  else  than  yield  to  it.  By  the  next  caravan,  he  said 
to  himself. 

In  Egypt  he  had  met  no  prophet,  only  philosophers,  and 
becoming  once  more  obsessed  by  miracles,  he  hastened  to 


104  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Banu,  but  of  Jesus  Banu  could  only  tell  him  that  he  was 
doing  the  work  that  our  Father  had  given  him  to  do.  Which 
is  more  than  thou  art  doing.  Go  and  get  baptism  from  John  ! 
Go  back  to  Jericho  and  wait  for  a  sign,  leaving  me  in  peace, 
for  I  need  it,  having  been  troubled  by  many,  eager  and 
anxious  about  things  that  do  not  matter.  I  will  indeed, 
Joseph  replied,  for  nothing  matters  to  me  since  I  cannot 
find  him.  And  he  returned  to  Jericho,  saying  to  himself 
that  Jesus  must  be  known  to  every  shepherd ;  perhaps  to 
that  one,  he  said,  running  to  head  back  his  flock,  which  has 
been  tempted  by  a  patch  of  young  corn ;  Joseph  stood  at 
gaze,  for  the  shepherd  wore  the  same  garb  as  Jesus  had  done  : 
a  turban  fixed  on  the  head  with  two  tiring-rings  of  camel's 
hair,  with  veils  floating  from  the  shoulders  to  save  the 
neck  from  the  sun,  Jesus,  too,  wore  a  striped  shirt,  and  over 
it  was  buckled  a  dressed  sheepskin  ;  and  Joseph  pondered  on 
the  shepherd's  shoon,  on  his  leathern  water-bottle,  on  his  long 
slender  fingers  twitching  the  thongs  of  the  sling.  He  had 
been  told  that  no  better  slinger  had  been  known  in  these 
hills  than  Jesus.  But  he  had  left  the  hills  and  had  gone, 
whither  none  could  tell !  He  was  gone,  whither  no  man 
knew,  not  even  Banu.  He  is  about  his  Father's  work,  was  all 
Banu  could  say ;  and  Joseph  wandered  on  from  shepherd  to 
shepherd,  questioning  them  all,  and  when  none  was  in  sight 
he  cried  again  Jesus's  name  to  the  winds,  and  never  passed 
a  cave  without  looking  into  it,  though  he  had  lost  hope  of 
finding  him.  But  he  continued  his  search,  for  it  whiled  the 
time  away,  though  it  did  nothing  else,  and  one  day  as  he  lay 
under  a  rock,  watching  a  shepherd  passing  across  the  opposite 
hillside,  he  tried  to  summon  courage  to  call  him  ;  but  judging 
him  to  be  one  of  those  whom  he  had  already  asked  for  tidings 
of  Jesus,  he  let  him  go,  and  fell  to  thinking  of  the  look  that 
would  come  into  the  shepherd's  face  on  hearing  the  same 
question  put  to  him  again.  A  poor  demented  man !  he 
would  mutter  to  himself  as  he  went  away.     Nor  was  Joseph 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  105 

sure  that  his  mind  was  not  estranged  from  him.  He  could 
no  longer  fix  it  upon  anything :  it  wandered  as  incontinently 
as  the  wind  among  the  hills,  and  very  often  he  seemed  to 
have  come  back  to  himself  after  a  long  absence,  but  without 
any  memory.  Yet  he  must  have  been  thinking  of  something ; 
and  he  was  trying  to  recall  his  thoughts,  when  the  shepherd 
came  back  into  view  again  and  Joseph  remarked  to 
himself  that  he  was  without  a  flock.  He  seemed  to  be 
seeking  something,  for  from  a  sheer  edge  he  peered  down  into 
the  valley.  A  ewe  that  has  fallen  over,  no  doubt,  Joseph 
thought ;  but  what  concern  of  mine  is  that  shepherd  who  has 
lost  a  ewe,  and  whether  he  will  find  his  ewe  or  will  fail  to 
find  it  ?  Of  no  concern  whatever,  he  said  to  himself,  and  — 
forgetful  of  the  shepherd  —  he  began  to  watch  the  evening 
gathering  in  the  sky.  Very  soon,  he  said,  the  hills  will  be 
folded  in  a  dim  blue  veil,  and  sleep  will  perchance  blot  out 
the  misery  that  has  brooded  in  me  all  this  livelong  day,  he 
muttered.  May  I  never  see  another,  but  close  my  eyes  for 
ever  on  the  broad  ruthless  light.  Of  what  avail  to  witness 
another  day  ?     All  days  are  alike  to  me. 

It  seemed  to  Joseph  that  he  was  of  a  sort  dead  already,  for 
he  could  detach  himself  from  himself,  and  consider  himself 
as  indifferently  as  he  might  a  blade  of  grass.  My  life,  he 
said,  is  like  these  bare  hills,  and  the  one  thing  left  for  me  to 
desire  is  death. 

A  footstep  aroused  him  from  his  dream.  The  man  whom 
he  had  seen  on  the  hillside  yonder  had  crossed  the  valley, 
and  he  began  to  describe  the  animals  he  had  lost,  before 
Joseph  recovered  from  his  reverie.  No,  he  said,  I  have  seen 
no  camels.  Camels  might  have  passed  him  by  without  his 
seeing  them,  but  there  was  no  obligation  on  him  to  confide 
his  misery  to  the  shepherd,  a  rough,  bearded  man  in  a  sheep- 
skin, who  thanked  him  and  was  about  to  go,  when  Joseph 
called  after  him  :  if  you  want  help  to  seek  your  camels,  I'll 
come  with  you.      Even   the   company   of    this   man  were 


io6  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

better  than  his  loneliness;  and  together  they  crossed  some 
hills.  Why,  there  be  my  camels,  as  I'm  alive!  the  camel- 
driver  cried.  Joseph  had  brought  him  luck,  for  in  a  valley 
close  at  hand  the  camels  were  found,  staring  into  emptiness. 
Strange  abstractions  !  Joseph  said  to  himself,  and  then  to 
the  camel-driver :  since  I  have  found  your  camels,  who  knows 
but  that  you  may  tell  me  of  one  Jesus,  an  Essene  from  the 
cenoby  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Jordan  ?  A  shepherd  of 
these  hills  ^  the  man  asked,  and  Joseph  replied  :  yes,  indeed. 
To  which  the  camel-driver  answered  :  if  I  hear  of  him,  I'll 
send  him  a  message  that  you  are  looking  for  him,  and  I'll 
send  you  word  that  he  has  been  found.  But  you'll  never  find 
him,  Joseph  answered.  You  didn't  think  you  would  find  my 
camels,  the  driver  replied ;  but  so  it  fell  out,  and  if  I  could 
only  find  a  few  more  camels,  or  the  money  to  buy  them,  I 
could  lay  down  a  great  trade  in  figs  between  Jericho  and 
Jerusalem ;  he  related  simply,  not  knowing  that  the  man 
he  was  talking  to  could  give  him  all  the  money  he  required ; 
telling  that  figs  ripen  earlier  in  Jericho,  especially  if  the  trees 
have  the  advantage  of  high  rocks  behind  them. 

It  pleased  Joseph  to  listen  to  his  patter :  it  seemed  to  him 
that  his  father  was  talking  to  him,  and  he  was  plunged  in 
such  misery  that  he  had  to  extricate  himself  somehow. 
So  he  signed  the  deed  that  evening,  and  within  a  month 
a  caravan  laden  with  figs  went  forth  and  wended  its  way 
safely  to  Jerusalem.  Another  caravan  followed  a  few  weeks 
after,  and  still  larger  profits  were  made,  and  these  becoming 
known  to  certain  thieves,  the  next  caravan  was  waylaid  and 
driven  away  to  the  coast,  and  the  figs  shipped  to  some  foreign 
part  or  sold  to  unscrupulous  dealers,  who  knew  them  to  be 
stolen.  The  loss  was  so  great  that  Gaddi  said  to  Joseph  :  if 
we  lose  a  second  caravan  we  shall  be  worse  off  than  we  were 
when  we  began,  and  we  shall  lose  a  third  and  a  fourth,  unless 
the  robbers  be  driven  out  of  their  caves.  Let  us  then  go  to 
the  Roman  governor,  Pilate,  and  lay  our  case  before  him. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  107 

Joseph  had  no  fault  to  find  with  Gaddi's  words,  and  he  said  : 
it  may  be  that  I  shall  go  to  Pilate  myself,  for  I  am  known 
to  him  through  my  father,  who  trades  largely  between 
Tiberias  and  Antioch  with  salt  fish. 

It  so  happened  that  Pilate  had  received  instructions  from 
Rome  to  give  every  protection  to  trade,  it  being  hoped 
thereby  to  win  the  Jews  from  religious  disputations,  which 
always  ended  in  riots.  Pilate  therefore  now  found  the 
occasion  he  needed.  Joseph  had  brought  it  to  him,  for  the 
ridding  of  the  road  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho  would 
evince  his  ability  as  administrator;  and  with  his  hand  in  his 
beard,  his  fine  eyes  bent  favourably  upon  Joseph,  he  prom- 
ised that  all  the  forces  of  the  Roman  Empire  would  be 
employed  to  smoke  out  these  nests  of  robbers.  From  the 
account  given  by  Joseph  of  the  caves,  he  did  not  deem  it 
worth  while  to  send  soldiers  groping  through  the  darkness  of 
rocks;  he  was  of  opinion  that  bundles  of  damp  straw  would 
serve  the  purpose  admirably ;  and  turning  to  the  captain  of 
the  guard  he  appealed  to  him,  and  got  for  answer  that  a  few 
trusses  of  damp  straw  would  send  forth  such  a  reek  that  all 
within  the  cave  would  be  choked,  or  reel  out  half  blinded. 

Joseph  reminded  Pilate  and  the  captain  of  the  guard  that 
the  openings  of  the  caves  were  not  always  accessible,  but 
abutted  over  a  ledge  away  down  a  precipitous  cliflF.  It 
might  be  necessary  to  lower  soldiers  down  in  baskets,  or  the 
caves  might  be  closed  with  mortised  stones.  Joseph's 
counsel  was  wise;  the  closing  of  the  caves  proved  very 
efficacious  in  ridding  the  hills  of  robbers,  though  in  some 
cases  the  robbers  managed  to  pick  a  way  out,  and  then  sought 
other  caves,  which  were  not  difficult  to  find,  the  hills  abound- 
ing in  such  places  of  hiding.  A  cave  would  sometimes  have 
two  outlets,  and  it  was  hard  to  get  the  shepherds  to  betray 
the  robbers,  their  fear  of  them  was  so  great.  But  within  six 
months  the  larger  dens  were  betrayed,  and  while  the  robbers 
writhed  the  last  hours  of  their  lives  away  on  crosses,  long 


io8  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

trains  of  camels  and  asses  pursued  their  way  from  Jericho  to 
Jerusalem  and  back  again,  without  fear  of  molestation,  the 
remnant  of  robbers  never  daring  to  do  more  than  draw  away 
a  single  camel  or  ass  found  astray  from  the  encampment. 

The  result  of  all  this  labour  was  that  figs  were  no  longer 
scarce  in  Jerusalem ;  and  when  a  delay  in  bringing  wheat 
from  Moab  was  announced  to  Pilate,  he  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  Joseph,  it  having  struck  him  that  the  transport 
service  so  admirably  organised  by  them  both  was  capable 
of  development.  A  hundred  camels,  Joseph  answered, 
needs  a  great  sum,  but  perhaps  Gaddi,  my  partner,  may  have 
some  savings  or  my  father  may  give  me  the  money. 

And  with  Pilate's  eyes  full  upon  him,  Joseph  sat  thinking 
of  the  lake,  recalling  every  bight  and  promontory,  and  asking 
himself  how  it  was  that  he  had  not  thought  of  Galilee  for 
so  long  a  time.  He  longed  to  set  eyes  on  Magdala,  and  he 
would  have  ridden  away  at  once,  but  an  escort  would  have 
to  be  ordered,  for  a  single  horseman  could  not  ride  through 
Samaria  without  a  certainty  of  being  robbed  before  he  got 
to  the  end  of  his  journey.  Pilate's  voice  roused  Joseph 
from  his  reverie,  and  after  apologising  to  the  Roman  magis- 
trate for  his  absentmindedness,  he  went  away  to  consult 
hurriedly  with  Gaddi,  and  then  to  make  preparations  for  the 
journey.  It  was  a  journey  of  three  days  on  horseback,  he 
was  told,  but  of  two  days  only  on  camel-back,  for  a  camel 
can  walk  three  miles  an  hour  for  eighteen  hours.  But  what 
should  I  be  doing  on  a  camel's  back  for  eighteen  hours  ? 
Joseph  cried,  and  the  driver  showed  Joseph  how  with  his  legs 
strapped  on  either  side  of  the  beast  he  could  lie  back  in 
the  pack  and  sleep  away  many  hours.  Your  head,  sir, 
would  soon  get  accustomed  to  the  rocking.  But  I  should 
have  to  leave  my  horse  behind,  Joseph  said.  He  was  fain  to 
see  his  father  and  the  lake;  he  was  already  there  in  spirit, 
and  would  like  to  transport  his  cumbersome  body  there  in 
the  least  possible  time;    but  he  could  not  separate  himself 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  109 

from  Xerxes,  a  beautiful  horse  that  he  had  brought  with  him 
from  Egypt  —  a  dark  grey  —  a  sagacious  animal  that  would 
neigh  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  and  follow  him  like  a  dog, 
and  when  they  encamped  for  the  night,  wander  in  search  of 
herbage  and  come  back  when  he  was  called,  or  wait  for 
him  like  a  wooden  horse  at  an  inn  door. 

Horse  and  horseman  seemed  a  match  the  morning  they 
went  away  to  Galilee  together,  Xerxes  all  bits  and  bridles, 
stirrups  and  trappings,  and  Joseph  equipped  for  the  journey 
not  less  elaborately  than  his  horse.  He  wore  a  striped 
shirt  and  an  embroidered  vest  with  two  veils  falling  from  his 
turban  over  his  shoulders,  and  as  he  was  not  going  to  visit 
the  Essenes,  he  did  not  forget  to  provide  himself  with 
weapons  :  a  curved  scimitar  hung  by  his  side  and  the  jewelled 
hilt  of  a  dagger  showed  above  his  girdle.  His  escort  not 
having  arrived  yet,  he  waited ;  taking  pleasure  in  the  arch 
of  Xerxes'  neck  when  the  horse  turned  his  head  towards  him, 
and  in  the  dark  courageous  eyes  and  the  beautifully  turned 
hoof  that  pawed  the  earth  so  prettily.  At  last  the  five 
spearmen  and  their  captain  appeared,  and  Xerxes,  who 
seemed  to  recognise  the  escort  as  a  sign  for  departure,  pre- 
sented his  left  side  for  Joseph  to  mount  him.  As  soon  as  his 
master  was  in  the  saddle,  he  shook  his  accoutrements  and 
sprang  forward  at  the  head  of  the  cavalcade,  Joseph  crying 
back :  he  must  have  the  sound  of  hoofs  behind  him.  He 
could  refuse  his  horse  nothing,  and  suffered  him  to  canter 
some  few  hundred  yards  up  the  road,  though  it  was  not  cus- 
tomary to  leave  the  escort  behind,  and  when  Joseph  returned, 
the  foreman  told  him,  as  he  expected  he  would,  that  it  would 
be  well  not  to  tire  his  horse  by  galloping  him  at  the  beginning 
of  the  journey,  for  a  matter  of  thirty  miles  lay  in  front  of 
them.  Thirty  miles  the  first  day,  he  said,  and  fifty  the 
second  day;  for  by  this  division  he  would  leave  twenty-five 
miles  for  the  third  day;  and  Joseph  learnt  that  the  captain 
had  arranged  the  journey  in  this  wise  for  the  sake  of  the  inns, 


no  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

for  though  they  would  meet  an  inn  every  twenty  miles,  there 
were  but  three  good  inns  between  Jerusalem  and  Tiberias. 
He  had  arranged  too  with  a  view  to  the  rest  at  midday. 
Our  way  lies,  he  said,  through  the  large  shallow  valley,  and 
that  is  why  I  started  at  six.  It  is  about  four  hours  hence,  so 
we  shall  be  through  it  well  before  noon.  But  why  must  we 
pass  through  it  before  noon  ?  Joseph  asked.  Because,  the 
captain  answered,  the  rocks  on  either  side  are  heated  after 
noon  like  the  walls  of  an  oven,  and  man  and  beast  choke  in 
it.  But  once  we  get  out  of  the  valley,  we  shall  have  pleasant 
country.  You  know  the  hills,  sir ;  and  Joseph  remembered 
the  rounded  hills  and  Azariah's  condemnation  of  the  felling 
of  the  forests,  a  condemnation  that  the  captain  agreed 
with ;  for  though  it  was  true  that  the  woods  afforded  cover 
for  wolves,  still  it  was  not  wise  to  fell  the  trees;  for  when 
the  woods  go,  the  captain  said,  the  country  will  lose  its  fer- 
tility. He  was  a  loquacious  fellow,  knowing  the  country 
well,  wherefor  pleasant  to  ride  alongside  of,  and  the  hours 
passed  quickly,  hearing  him  relate  his  life.  And  when  after 
two  days'  riding  Joseph  wearied  of  his  foreman's  many 
various  relations,  his  eyes  admired  the  slopes,  now  greener 
than  they  would  be  again  till  another  year  passed.  The  fig- 
trees  were  sending  out  shoots,  the  vines  were  in  little  leaf, 
and  the  fragrance  of  the  vineyards  and  fig  gardens  was 
sweet  in  the  cool  morning  when  the  dusk  melted  away 
and  rose-coloured  clouds  appeared  above  the  hills;  and  as 
Joseph  rode  he  liked  to  think  that  the  spectacle  of  the  caval- 
cade faring  through  the  vine-clad  hills  would  abide  in  his 
memory,  and  that  in  years  to  come  he  would  be  able  to  re- 
call it  exactly  as  he  now  saw  it  —  all  the  faces  of  the  spearmen 
and  their  odd  horses ;  even  his  foreman's  discourses  would  be- 
come a  pleasure  to  remember  when  time  would  redeem  them 
of  triteness  and  commonplace;  the  very  weariness  he  now 
experienced  in  listening  to  them  would,  too,  become  a 
perennial  source  of  secret  amusement  to  him  later  on.    But 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  iii 

for  the  moment  he  could  not  withstand  his  foreman  a  moment 
longer,  and  made  no  answer  when  he  came  interrupting  his 
meditations  with  tiresome  learning  regarding  the  great 
acacia-tree  into  whose  shade  Joseph  had  withdrawn  himself. 
He  was  content  to  enjoy  the  shade  and  the  beauty  of  the 
kindly  tree  that  flourished  among  rocks  where  no  one  would 
expect  a  tree  to  flourish,  and  did  not  need  to  be  told  that  the 
roots  of  a  tree  seek  water  instinctively,  and  that  the  roots 
of  the  acacia  seek  water  and  find  it,  about  three  feet  down. 
The  acacia  gave  the  captain  an  opportunity  to  testify  of  his 
knowledge,  and  Joseph  remembered  suddenly  that  he  would 
be  returning  to  Jerusalem  with  him  in  three  days,  for  not 
more  than  three  days  would  his  escort  remain  in  Galilee, 
resting  their  horses,  unless  they  were  paid  a  large  sum 
of  money ;  and  with  that  escort  idle  in  the  village  the 
thought  would  never  be  out  of  his  mind  that  in  a  few 
days  he  would  be  listening  to  his  foreman  all  the  way  back 
to  Jerusalem. 

Impossible !  He  couldn't  go  back  to  Jerusalem  in  three 
days,  nor  in  three  weeks.  His  father  would  be  mortally 
grieved  if  he  did ;  and  Pilate  himself  would  be  surprised  to 
see  him  back  so  soon  and  think  him  lacking  altogether  in  filial 
afi^ection  if,  after  an  absence  of  more  than  two  years,  he  could 
stay  only  three  days  with  his  father.  He  must,  however, 
send  a  letter  to  Pilate  and  one  that  consisted  with  all  the 
circumstances.  The  barely  stirring  foliage  of  the  acacia  in- 
spired a  desire  of  composition  :  a  more  favourable  moment 
than  the  present,  or  a  more  inspiring  spot,  he  did  not  think 
he  would  be  likely  to  find.  He  called  for  his  tablets  and  fell 
to  thinking,  but  had  hardly  filled  in  the  first  dozen  lines 
when  his  foreman  —  this  time  apologising  for  the  intrusion 
—  came  to  tell  him  that  if  he  wished  to  reach  Magdala  that 
evening  they  must  start  at  once.  He  could  not  but  acquiesce, 
and  —  as  if  contemptuous  of  the  protection  of  his  escort  — 
he  rode  on  in  front,  wishing  to  be  left  alone  so  that  he  might 


112  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

seek  out  the  terms  of  his  letter,  and  his  mood  of  irritated 
perplexity  did  not  pass  away  till  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
great  upland,  rising,  however,  so  gently  that  he  did  not  think 
Xerxes  would  mind  ascending  it  at  a  gallop.  As  soon  as  he 
reached  the  last  crest,  he  would  see  the  lake  alone,  having  — 
thanks  to  the  speed  of  Xerxes  —  escaped  from  his  companions 
for  at  least  five  minutes.  He  looked  forward  to  these  mo- 
ments eagerly  yet  not  altogether  absolved  from  apprehension 
of  a  spiritual  kind,  for  the  lake  always  seemed  to  him  a  sort 
of  sign,  symbol  or  hieroglyphic,  in  which  he  read  a  warning 
addressed  specially,  if  not  wholly,  to  himself.  The  meaning 
that  the  lake  held  out  to  him  always  eluded  him,  and  never 
more  completely  than  now,  at  the  end  of  an  almost  windless 
spring  evening. 

It  came  into  view  a  moment  sooner  than  he  thought  for, 
and  in  an  altogether  different  aspect  —  bluer  than  ever  seen 
by  him  in  memory  or  reality  —  and,  he  confessed  to  himself, 
more  beautiful.  Like  a  great  harp  it  lay  below  him,  and 
his  eyes  followed  the  coast-lines  widening  out  in  an  indenture 
of  the  hills  :  on  one  side  desert,  on  the  other  richly  cultivated 
ascents,  with  villages  and  one  great  city,  Tiberias  —  its 
domes,  cupolas,  towers  and  the  high  cliffs  abutting  the  lake 
between  Tiberias  and  Magdala  bathed  in  a  purple  glow  as 
the  sun  went  down.  My  own  village  !  he  said,  and  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  him  to  imagine  his  father  sipping  sherbet  on  his 
balcony,  in  good  humour,  no  doubt,  the  weather  being  so 
favourable  to  fish-taking.  Now  which  are  Peter's  boats 
among  these  ?  he  asked  himself,  his  eyes  returning  to  the 
fishing  fleet.  And  which  are  John's  and  James's  boats  ?  He 
could  tell  that  all  the  nets  were  down  by  the  reefed  sails 
crossed  over,  for  the  boats  were  before  the  wind.  A  long 
pull  back  it  will  be  to  Capernaum,  he  was  thinking,  a  matter 
of  thirteen  or  fourteen  miles,  for  the  leading  boat  is  not 
more  than  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan.  Then, 
raising  his  eyes  from  the  fishing-boats,  he  followed  the  coast 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  113 

lines  again,  seeking  the  shapes  of  the  wooded  hills,  rising  in 
gently  cadenced  ascents. 

A  more  limpid  evening  never  breathed  upon  a  lake !  he 
said ;  and  when  he  raised  his  eyes  a  second  time  they  rested 
on  the  ravines  of  Hermon  far  away  in  the  north,  still  full  of 
the  winter's  snow ;  and  —  being  a  Galilean  —  he  knew  they 
would  keep  their  snow  for  another  month  at  least.  The 
eagerness  of  the  spring  would  then  be  well  out  of  the  air; 
and  I  shall  be  thinking,  he  continued,  of  returning  to  Jeru- 
salem and  concerning  myself  once  more  with  Pilate's  business. 
But  what  a  beautiful  evening !  still  and  pure  as  a  crystal. 

A  bird  floated  past,  his  black  eyes  always  watchful.  The 
bird  turned  away  to  join  his  mates,  and  Joseph  bade  his 
escort  watch  the  flock  :  a  bird  here  and  a  bird  there  swooping 
and  missing  and  getting  no  doubt  sometimes  a  fish  that 
had  ventured  too  near  the  surface  —  that  one  leaving  his 
mates,  flying  high  towards  Magdala,  to  be  there,  he  said, 
in  a  few  minutes,  by  my  father's  house;  and  in  another 
hour  thou  shalt  be  in  thy  stable,  thy  muzzle  in  the  corn,  he 
whispered  into  his  horse's  ear;  and  calling  upon  his  comrades 
to  put  their  heels  into  their  tired  steeds,  he  turned  Xerxes 
into  the  great  road  leading  to  Tiberias. 

But  there  were  some  Jews  among  the  escort  who  shrank 
from  entering  a  pagan  city.  Their  prejudices  might  be 
overcome  with  argument,  but  it  were  simpler  to  turn  their 
horses'  heads  to  the  west  and  then  to  the  north  as  soon  as  the 
city  was  passed.  The  detour  would  be  a  long  one,  but  it 
were  shorter  than  argument :  yet  argument  he  did  not  escape 
from,  for  as  they  rode  through  the  open  country  behind 
Tiberias,  some  declared  that  Herod  was  not  a  pure  Jew; 
and  to  make  their  points  clearer  they  often  reined  up  their 
horses,  to  the  annoyance  of  Joseph,  who  could  not  bring  the 
discussion  to  an  end  without  seeming  indifferent  to  the  law 
and  the  traditions.  But,  happily,  it  had  to  end  before  long, 
for  within  three  miles  of  Magdala  they  were  riding  in  single 
I 


114  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

file  down  deep  lanes  along  whose  low  dykes  the  cactus 
crawled,  hooking  itself  along.  One  lane  led  into  another.  A 
network  of  deep  lanes  wound  round  Magdala,  which,  judging 
by  the  number  of  new  dwellings,  seemed  to  have  prospered 
since  Joseph  had  last  seen  it.  Humble  dwellings  no  doubt, 
Joseph  said  to  himself,  but  bread  is  not  lacking,  nor  fish. 
Then  he  thought  of  the  wharves  his  father  had  built  for 
the  boats,  and  the  workshops  for  the  making  of  the  barrels 
into  which  the  fish  was  packed.  Magdala  owed  its  existence 
to  Dan's  forethought,  and  he  had  earned  his  right,  Joseph 
thought,  to  live  in  the  tall  house  which  he  had  built  for  his 
pleasure  in  a  garden  amid  tall  acacia-trees  that  every  breeze 
that  blew  up  from  the  lake  set  in  motion. 

If  ever  a  man,  Joseph  thought,  earned  his  right  to  a  peace- 
able old  age  amid  pleasant  surroundings,  that  man  was  his 
father ;  and  he  thought  of  him  returning  from  his  counting- 
house  to  his  spacious  verandah,  thinking  of  the  barrels  of 
salt  fish  that  he  would  send  away  the  following  week,  if  the 
fishers  were  letting  down  their  nets  with  fortunate  enterprise. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  VERY  good  guessing  of  his  father's  wonts  and  thoughts 
was  that  of  Joseph  while  riding  from  Tiberias,  for  as  the 
horseman  came  up  the  lane  at  a  canter  the  old  man  was 
wending  homeward  from  his  counting-house,  wishing  Peter 
and  Andrew,  James  and  John  and  the  rest  good  fortune  with 
their  nets,  or  else,  he  had  begun  to  think,  the  order  from 
Damascus  cannot The  completed  sentence  would  prob- 
ably have  run  :  cannot  be  executed,  but  the  sound  of  the 
hooves  of  Joseph's  horse  checked  the  words  on  his  lips  and 
he  had  to  squeeze  himself  against  the  ditch,  to  escape  being 
trodden  upon.  Joseph  sprang  from  the  saddle.  Father, 
I  haven't  hurt  you,  I  hope .''  I  was  dreaming.  Why, 
Joseph,  it  is  you  !  You  haven't  hurt  me,  and  I  was  dream- 
ing too.  But  what  a  beautiful  horse  you  are  riding !  Aren't 
you  afraid  he  will  run  away  ?  Up  and  down  these  lanes  he 
would  give  us  a  fine  chase.  No,  Joseph  replied,  he'll  follow 
me.  And  the  horse  followed  them,  pushing  his  head  against 
Joseph's  shoulder  from  time  to  time ;  but  Joseph  was  too 
much  engaged  with  his  father  to  do  more  than  whistle  to 
Xerxes  when  he  lingered  to  browse. 

As  we  rode  past  Tiberias,  I  had  imagined  you,  Father, 
sitting  in  the  verandah  drinking  sherbet.  We  will  have  some 
presently,  Dan  answered.  I  was  detained  at  my  business. 
Tell  me.  Father,  how  are  the  monkeys  and  the  parrots  ? 
Much  the  same  as  you  left  them,  Dan  answered,  as  he  laid 
his  hand  on  the  latch  of  the  large  wooden  gate.  A  servant 
came  forward  to  conduct  them,  and  Joseph  threw  his  reins 
to  him. 

"S 


ii6  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

A  monkey  came  hopping  across  the  sward  and  jumped 
on  to  Joseph's  shoulder.  Another  came,  and  then  a  third. 
Dan  would  have  been  annoyed  if  the  monkeys  had  not 
recognised  Joseph,  for  it  seemed  to  him  quite  natural  that 
all  things  should  love  Joseph.  You  see,  he  continued,  the 
parrots  are  screaming  and  dancing  on  their  perches,  waiting 
for  you  to  scratch  their  polls.  Joseph  complied,  and  then 
Dan  wearied  of  the  monkeys,  which  were  absorbing  Joseph's 
attention,  and  drove  them  away.  You  haven't  told  me  that 
you're  glad  to  be  back  in  Galilee  in  front  of  that  beautiful 
lake.  Jerusalem  has  its  temple  but  God  made  the  lake 
himself.  But  you  don't  seem  as  pleased  to  be  back  as  I'd 
like.  Father,  it  is  of  thee  I'm  thinking  and  not  of  temples 
or  lakes,  Joseph  answered,  and  for  a  moment  Dan  could  not 
speak,  so  deep  was  his  happiness,  and  so  intense.  Overcome 
by  it,  they  walked  a  little  way  and  Joseph  followed  his  father 
up  the  tall  stairs  on  to  the  verandahed  balcony,  and  when  they 
had  drunk  some  sherbet  and  Joseph  had  vowed  he  had  not 
tasted  any  like  it,  Dan  interposed  suddenly :  but  thou  hast 
not  told  me,  Joseph,  how  thou  camest  by  thy  beautiful  horse. 
He  came  from  Egypt,  Joseph  answered  casually,  and  was 
about  to  add  that  he  was  an  Egyptian  horse,  but  on  second 
thoughts  it  seemed  to  him  that  it  would  be  well  not  to  speak 
the  word  "Egypt"  again :  to  do  so  might  put  another  ques- 
tion into  his  father's  mouth ;  he  would  not  commit  himself 
to  a  rank  lie,  and  to  tell  that  he  had  gone  to  Egypt  could 
not  do  else  than  lead  him  into  an  intricate  story  which  would 
indispose  his  father  to  listen  to  Pilate's  projects,  or  at  least 
estrange  Dan's  mind  from  a  calm  judgment  of  them ;  so 
he  resolved  to  omit  all  mention  of  Banu,  Jesus  and  Egypt 
and  to  begin  his  narrative  with  an  account  of  his  meeting 
with  the  camel-driver  Gaddi.  But  the  camel-driver  seemed 
to  be  the  last  person  that  Dan  was  interested  in.  But  he's 
my  partner !  Joseph  exclaimed,  and  it  was  he  who  sent  me 
to  Pilate.     I'll  tell  thee  about  the  Essenes  afterwards.    And 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  117 

feeling  that  he  had  at  last  succeeded  in  fixing  his  father's 
attention  on  that  part  of  the  story  which  he  wished  to  tell 
him,  Joseph  said :  an  excellent  governor,  one  who  is  ready 
to  listen  to  all  schemes  for  the  furtherance  of  commercial 
enterprise  in  Judea :  he  has  ridded  the  hills  of  the  robbers ; 
and  his  account  of  the  summer  in  the  desert  with  the  Roman 
soldiers,  smoking  out  nest  after  nest  and  putting  on  crosses 
those  that  were  taken  alive  interested  the  old  man.  I  wish 
he  would  start  on  Samaria,  Dan  mentioned  casually;  and 
Joseph  replied,  and  he  will  as  soon  as  he  is  certain  that  he 
can  rely  on  the  help  of  men  like  thee.  Pilate's  favour  is 
worth  winning,  Father,  and  it  can  be  won.  I  doubt  thee 
not,  but  wilt  tell  how  it  may  be  won,  my  boy  ?  By  falling 
in  with  his  projects,  Joseph  answered,  and  began  his  relation. 
And  when  he  had  finished,  Dan  sat  meditating,  casting  up 
the  account :  Pilate's  good  will  is  desirable,  he  said,  but  a 
large  sum  of  money  will  have  to  be  advanced.  But,  Father, 
the  carrying  trade  has  been  a  great  success.  Well,  let  us 
go  into  figures,  Joseph.  And  they  balanced  the  profits 
against  the  losses.  Without  doubt  thou  hast  done  well 
this  last  half  year,  Dan  said,  and  if  business  don't  fall  away 

But,  Father,  Joseph  interrupted,  think  of  the  profit 

my  account  would  have  shown  if  we  had  not  lost  two  con- 
voys. The  loss  has  already  been  very  nearly  paid  off. 
There  are  no  more  robbers  and  the  demand  for  figs  is  steady 

in  Jerusalem.     Figs  ripen  much  earlier Say  no  more, 

Joseph.  My  money  is  thy  money,  and  if  fifty  camels  be 
wanted,  thou  shalt  have  them.  'Tis  the  least  I  can  do  for 
thee,  for  thou  hast  ever  been  a  frugal  son,  Joseph,  and  art 
deserving  of  all  I  have.  So  Pilate  has  heard  of  my  fish- 
salting  and  maybe  that  was  why  he  met  thee  on  such  fair 
terms.  That  has  much  to  do  with  it,  Joseph  replied,  and 
he  watched  the  look  of  satisfaction  that  came  into  his  father's 
face.  But  tell  me,  Joseph,  has  all  this  long  time  been  spent 
smoking  out  robbers  ?     Tell  me  again  of  their  caves.     Well, 


ii8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Father,  the  caves  often  opened  on  to  ledges,  and  we  had  to 
lower  the  soldiers  in  baskets. 

And  the  tale  how  one  great  cavern  was  besieged  amused 
the  old  man  till  he  was  nigh  to  clapping  his  hands  with 
delight  and  to  reminding  Joseph  of  the  time  when  he  used 
to  ask  his  grandmother  to  tell  him  stories.  Were  she  here 
she'd  like  to  hear  thee  telling  thy  stories.  Thou  wast  in 
her  thoughts  to  the  last  and  now  we  shall  never  see  her  any 
more,  however  great  our  trouble  may  be ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  silence  they  fell  to  thinking  how  the  same  black 
curtain  would  drop  between  them  and  the  world.  She  has 
gone  away  to  Arimathea,  Joseph,  whence  we  came  and 
whither  I  shall  follow  her.  We  go  forward  a  little  way  but 
to  go  back  again.  But  I  can't  talk  of  deaths  and  graves. 
Go  on  telling  me  about  Pilate  and  the  robbers,  for  I've  been 
busy  all  day  in  the  counting-house  adding  up  figures,  and 
to  listen  to  a  good  tale  is  a  rare  distraction.  Yet  I  wouldn't 
talk  of  them  either,  Joseph,  but  of  thyself  and  thy  horse 
that  all  the  country  will  be  talking  about  the  day  after  to- 
morrow, when  thou'lt  ride  him  into  the  town.  And  now 
say  it,  Joseph :  ye  are  a  wee  bit  tired,  isn't  that  so  ?  Nay, 
Father,  not  a  bit.  We  have  come  but  twenty  miles  from 
the  last  halt,  and  as  for  the  telling  of  my  story,  maybe  the 
loose  ends  which  I've  forgotten  for  the  moment  will  unravel 
themselves  while  we're  talking  of  fish-salting  —  of  the  many 
extra  barrels  you've  sent  out.  Now,  Father,  say  how  many  ? 
At  it,  Joseph,  as  before-times,  rallying  thy  old  father !  Well, 
I've  not  done  so  badly,  but  a  drop  in  the  year's  trading  is 
never  a  pleasant  thought,  though  it  be  but  a  barrel.  And 
he  began  again  his  complaint  against  the  government  of 
Antipas,  who  had  never  encouraged  trade  as  he  should  have 
done.  Now,  if  we  had  a  man  here  such  as  thy  friend  Pilate, 
I'd  not  be  saying  too  much  were  I  to  say  that  my  trade 
could  be  doubled.  But  Pilate  has  no  authority  in  Galilee. 
Joseph  thought  that  Pilate's  authority  should  be  extended. 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  119 

But  how  can  that  be  done  ?  Dan  inquired,  and  being  em- 
barrassed for  an  answer,  Joseph  pressed  Dan  to  confide  in 
him,  a  thing  which  Dan  showed  no  wish  to  do ;  but  at  last 
his  reluctance  was  overcome,  and  shyly  he  admitted  that 
his  despondency  had  nothing  to  do  with  Antipas  nor  with 
a  casual  drop  in  the  order  from  Damascus,  but  with  a  prophet 
that  was  troubling  the  neighbourhood.  A  very  dangerous 
prophet,  too,  is  this  one;  but  I  am  afraid,  Joseph,  we  don't 
view  prophets  in  exactly  the  same  light.  Joseph  was  about 
to  laugh,  but  seeing  the  smile  coming  into  his  eyes,  his  father 
begged  him  to  wait  till  he  heard  the  whole  story. 

He  called  up  all  his  attention  into  his  face,  and  the  story 
he  heard  was  that  the  new  prophet,  who  came  up  from 
Jordan  about  a  year  ago,  was  preaching  that  the  Lord  was 
so  outraged  at  the  conduct  of  his  chosen  people  that  he  had 
determined  to  destroy  the  world,  and  might  begin  the  wreck- 
ing of  it  any  day  of  the  week.  But  before  the  world  ends 
there'll  be  wars.  Joseph  said  :  but  there  has  been  none, 
nor  have  I  heard  rumours  of  any.  We  don't  hear  much 
what's  going  on  up  here  in  Galilee,  Dan  answered,  and  he 
continued  his  story :  the  new  prophet  had  persuaded  many 
of  the  fishers  to  lay  down  their  nets.  Simon  Peter,  thou 
rememberest  him  ?  Well,  he's  the  prophet's  right-hand 
man,  and  now  casts  a  net  but  seldom.  And  thou  hast  not 
forgotten  James  and  John,  sons  of  Zebedee  ?  They  come 
next  in  the  prophet's  favour,  and  there  are  plenty  of  others 
walking  about  the  village,  neglecting  their  work  and  telling 
of  the  judgment  and  the  great  share  of  the  world  that'll  come 
to  them  when  the  prophet  returns  from  heaven  in  a  chariot. 
Among  them  is  Matthew,  a  publican,  the  only  one  that  can 
read  or  write.  You  don't  remember  him  ?  Now  I  come 
to  think  on  it,  he  was  appointed  soon  after  thou  wentest 
to  Jerusalem.  Soon  after  I  went  to  Jerusalem  ?  Joseph 
asked ;  was  the  prophet  preaching  then  ?  No.  It  all 
began  soon  after  thy  departure  for  Jerusalem  about  a  year 


I20  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

ago;  a  more  ignorant  lot  of  fellows  thou'd  be  puzzled  to 
find,  if  the  world  wert  travelled  over  in  search  of  them. 
The  prophet  himself  comes  from  the  most  ignorant  village 
in  Galilee  —  Nazareth.  But  why  look  like  that,  Joseph  ? 
What  ails  thee  ?  Go  on,  Father,  with  thy  telling  of  the 
prophet  from  Nazareth.  He  started  in  Nazareth,  Dan 
answered,  but  none  paid  any  heed  to  him  but  made  a 
mock  of  him,  for  he'd  have  us  believe  that  he  is  the 
Messiah  that  the  Jews  have  been  expecting  for  many  a 
year.  But  it  was  predicted  that  the  Messiah  will  be 
born  in  Bethlehem;  and  everybody  knows  that  Jesus  was 
born  in  Nazareth.  There's  some  talk,  too,  that  he  comes 
from  the  line  of  David,  but  everybody  knows  that  Jesus 
is  the  son  of  Joseph  the  Carpenter.  His  mother  and 
his  brothers  tried  all  they  could  do  to  dissuade  him  from 
preaching  about  the  judgment,  which  he  knows  no  more 
about  than  the  next  one,  but  he  wouldn't  listen  to  them. 
A  good  quiet  woman,  his  mother;  I  know  her  well  and  am 
sorry  for  her;  but  she  has  better  sons  in  James  and  Jude. 
Joseph,  her  husband,  I  knew  him  in  days  gone  by  —  a  God- 
fearing honest  man,  whom  one  could  always  intrust  with  a 
day's  work.  He  doted  on  his  eldest  son,  though  he  never 
could  teach  him  to  handle  a  saw  with  any  skill,  for  his 
thoughts  were  always  wandering,  and  when  an  Essene  came 
up  to  Galilee  in  search  of  neophytes,  Jesus  took  his  fancy 
and  they  went  away  together.  But  what  ails  thee  ?  As 
soon  as  Joseph  could  get  control  of  his  voice,  he  asked  his 
father  if  the  twain  were  gone  away  together  to  the  cenoby 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  Jordan,  and  Dan  answered  that  he 
thought  he  had  heard  of  the  great  Essenes'  encampment  by 
the  Dead  Sea.  A  fellow  fair-spoken  enough,  Dan  con- 
tinued, that  has  bewitched  the  poor  folk  about  the  lakeside. 
But  Joseph,  thy  cheek  is  like  ashes,  and  thou'rt  all  of  a 
tremble :  drink  a  little  sherbet,  my  boy.  No,  Father,  no. 
Tell  me,  is  the  Galilean  as  tall  or  as  heavy  as  I  am,  or  of 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  121 

slight  build,  with  a  forehead  broad  and  high  ?  And  does  he 
walk  as  if  he  were  away  and  in  communion  with  his  Father 
in  Heaven  ?  But  what  ails  thee,  my  son  ?  What  ails  thee  ? 
He  came  from  the  cenoby  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the 
Jordan  ?  Joseph  continued ;  and  has  been  here  nearly 
two  years  ?  He  received  baptism  from  John  in  the  Jordan  ? 
Isn't  that  so,  Father  ?  I  know  naught  of  his  baptism,  Dan 
answered,  but  he'll  fall  into  trouble.  I  was  with  Banu, 
Joseph  said,  when  the  hermit  saw  him  in  a  vision  receiving 
baptism  from  John ;  but  though  I  ran,  I  was  too  late,  and  ever 
since  have  sought  Jesus,  in  Egypt  and  afterwards  among  the 
hills  of  Judea.  I  can't  tell  thee  more  at  present,  but  would  go 
out  into  the  garden  or  perhaps  wander  by  myself  for  a  little 
while  under  the  cliffs  by  the  lake.  Thou'lt  forgive  me  this 
sudden  absence,  Father  ? 

Dan  put  down  his  glass  of  sherbet  and  looked  after  his 
son.  He  had  been  so  happy  for  a  little  while,  and  now  un- 
happiness  was  by  again. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  dogs  barked  as  he  unlocked  the  gate,  but  a  few  words 
quieted  them  (they  still  remembered  his  voice)  and  he  crept 
upstairs  to  his  room,  weary  in  body  and  sore  of  foot,  for  he 
had  come  a  long  way,  having  accompanied  Jesus,  whom  he 
had  met  under  the  cliffs  abutting  the  lake,  to  the  little  path- 
way cut  in  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  that  leads  to  Capernaum. 
He  had  not  recognised  him  as  he  passed,  which  was  not 
strange,  so  unseemly  were  the  ragged  shirt  and  the  cloak  of 
camel's  or  goat's  hair  he  wore  over  it,  patched  along  and 
across,  one  long  tatter  hanging  on  a  loose  thread.  It  caught 
in  his  feet,  and  perforce  he  hitched  it  up  as  he  walked,  and 
Joseph  remembered  that  he  looked  upon  the  passenger  as  a 
mendicant  wonder-worker  on  his  round  from  village  to 
village.  But  Jesus  had  not  gone  very  far  when  Joseph  was 
stopped  by  a  memory  of  a  face  seen  long  ago :  a  pale  bony 
olive  face,  lit  with  brilliant  eyes.  It  is  he !  he  cried ;  and 
starting  in  pursuit  and  quickly  overtaking  Jesus,  he  called 
his  name.  Jesus  turned,  and  there  was  no  doubt  when 
the  men  stood  face  to  face  that  the  shepherd  Joseph  had 
seen  in  the  cenoby  in  converse  with  the  president,  and  the 
wandering  beggar  by  the  lake  shore,  were  one  and  the  same 
person.  Jesus  asked  him  which  way  he  was  walking,  and 
he  answered  that  all  directions  were  the  same  to  him,  for  he 
was  only  come  out  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air  before  bed-time. 
But  thinking  he  had  expressed  himself  vulgarly,  he  added 
other  words  and  waited  for  Jesus  to  speak  of  the  beauty  of 
God's  handiwork.  Jesus  merely  mentioned  in  answer  that 
he  was  going  to  Capernaum,  where  he  lodged  with  Simon 

12a 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  123 

Peter.  But  he  had  not  forgotten  the  brotherhood  by  the 
Dead  Sea,  and  invited  Joseph  to  accompany  him  and  tell 
him  of  those  whom  he  had  left  behind.  We  are  of  the  same 
brotherhood,  he  said ;  and  then,  as  if  noticing  Joseph's  em- 
barrassment, or  you  are  a  proselyte,  maybe,  who  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year  retired  from  the  order  ?  Many  do  so. 
Joseph  did  not  know  how  to  answer  this  question,  for  he  had 
not  obtained  permission  from  the  president  to  seek  Jesus  in 
Egypt,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  most  truthful  account 
he  could  give  of  himself  at  the  cenoby  was  to  say  that  he  was 
not  there  long  enough  to  consider  himself  even  a  proselyte. 
He  lived  in  the  cenoby  as  a  visitor,  rather  than  as  one  at- 
tached to  the  order;  but  how  far  he  might  consider  himself 
an  Essene  did  not  matter  to  anybody.  Besides  he  wished 
to  hear  Jesus  talk  rather  than  to  talk  about  himself,  so  he 
compared  his  residence  with  the  Essenes  to  a  clue  out  of 
which  a  long  thread  had  unravelled  :  a  thread,  he  said,  that 
led  me  into  the  desert  in  search  of  thee. 

Jesus  had  known  Banu,  in  the  desert,  and  listened  at- 
tentively while  Joseph  told  him  how  Banu  was  interrupted 
while  speaking  of  the  resurrection  by  a  vision  of  John  bap- 
tizing Jesus,  and  had  bidden  him  go  to  Jordan  and  get 
baptism  from  John.  But  it  was  not  John's  baptism  I  sought, 
but  thee,  and  I  arrived  breathless,  to  hear  that  thou  hadst 
gone  away  with  him,  John  not  being  able  to  bear  the  cold 
of  the  water  any  longer.  Afterwards  I  sought  thee  hither 
and  thither,  till  hearing  of  thee  in  Egypt  I  went  there  and 
sought  thee  from  synagogue  to  synagogue. 

A  man  travels  the  world  over  in  search  of  what  he  needs 
and  returns  home  to  find  it,  Jesus  answered  gently,  and  in  a 
tenderer  voice  than  his  scrannel  peacock  throat  would  have 
led  one  to  expect.  And  as  if  foreseeing  an  ardent  disciple 
he  began  to  speak  to  Joseph  of  God,  his  speech  moving  on 
with  a  gentle  motion  like  that  of  clouds  wreathing  and  un- 
wreathing,  finding  new  shapes  for  every  period,  and  always 


124  THE  BROOK   KERITH 

beautiful  shapes.  He  often  stopped  speaking  and  his  eyes 
became  fixed,  as  if  he  saw  beyond  the  things  we  all  see ;  and 
after  an  interval  he  would  begin  to  speak  again ;  and  Joseph 
heard  that  he  had  met  John  among  the  hills  and  listened  to 
him,  and  that  if  he  accepted  baptism  from  him  it  was  be- 
cause he  wished  to  follow  John  :  but  John  sought  to  establish 
the  kingdom  of  God  within  the  law,  and  so  a  dancing-girl 
asked  for  his  head.  It  seemed  as  if  Jesus  were  on  the  point 
of  some  tremendous  avowal,  but  if  so  it  passed  away  like  a 
cloud,  and  he  put  his  hand  on  Joseph's  shoulder  affectionately 
and  asked  him  to  tell  him  about  Egypt,  a  country  which  he 
said  he  had  never  heard  of  before.  Whereupon  Joseph 
raised  his  eyes  and  saw  in  Jesus  a  travelling  wonder-worker 
come  down  from  a  northern  village  —  a  peasant,  without 
knowledge  of  the  world  and  of  the  great  Roman  Empire. 
At  every  step  Jesus'  ignorance  of  the  world  surprised  Joseph 
more  and  more.  He  seemed  to  believe  that  all  the  nations 
were  at  war,  and  from  further  discourse  Joseph  learnt  that 
Jesus  could  not  speak  Greek,  and  he  marvelled  at  his  igno- 
rance, for  Jesus  only  knew  such  Hebrew  as  is  picked  up  in 
the  synagogues.  He  did  not  seek  to  conceal  his  ignorance 
of  this  world  from  Joseph,  and  almost  made  parade  of  it, 
as  if  he  was  aware  that  one  must  discard  a  great  deal  to  gain 
a  little,  as  if  he  would  impress  this  truth  upon  Joseph,  almost 
as  if  he  would  reprove  him  for  having  spent  so  much  time 
on  learning  Greek,  for  instance,  and  Greek  philosophy.  He 
treated  these  things  as  negligible  when  Joseph  spoke  of 
them,  and  evinced  more  interest  in  Joseph  himself,  who  ad- 
mitted he  had  returned  from  philosophy  to  the  love  of  God. 
Now  sitting  on  his  bed,  kept  awake  by  his  memories, 
Joseph  relived  in  thought  the  hours  he  had  spent  with  Jesus. 
He  seemed  to  comprehend  the  significance  of  every  word 
much  better  now  than  when  he  was  with  Jesus,  and  he 
deplored  his  obtuseness  and  revised  all  the  answers  given 
to  Jesus.     He  remembered  with  sorrow  how  he  tried  to 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  125 

explain  to  Jesus  the  teaching  of  the  Alexandrian  philosophers 
regarding  the  Scriptures,  paining  Jesus  very  much  by  his 
recital,  but  he  had  continued  to  explain  for  the  sake  of  the 
answer  that  he  knew  would  come  at  last.  It  did  come.  He 
remembered  Jesus  saying  that  philosophies  change  in  dif- 
ferent men,  but  the  love  of  God  is  the  same  in  all  men.  A 
great  truth,  Joseph  said  to  himself,  for  every  school  is  in 
opposition  to  another  school.  But  how  did  Jesus  come  to 
know  this,  being  without  philosophy  ?  He  had  been  tempted 
to  ask  how  he  was  able  to  get  at  the  truth  of  things  without 
the  Greek  language  and  without  education,  but  refrained 
lest  a  question  should  break  the  harmohy  of  the  evening. 
The  past  was  not  yet  past  and  sitting  on  his  bed  in  the  moon- 
light Joseph  could  re-see  the  plain  covered  with  beautiful 
grasses  and  flowers,  with  low  flowering  bushes  waving  over 
dusky  headlands,  for  it  was  dark  as  they  crossed  the  plain; 
and  they  had  heard  rather  than  seen  the  rushing  stream, 
bubbling  out  of  the  earth,  making  music  in  the  still  night. 
He  knew  the  stream  from  early  childhood,  but  he  had  never 
really  known  it  until  he  stood  with  Jesus  under  the  stars  by 
the  narrow  pathway  cut  in  the  shoulder  of  the  hill,  whither 
the  way  leads  to  Capernaum,  for  it  was  there  that  Jesus  took 
his  hands  and  said  the  words:  "Our  Father  which  is  in 
Heaven."  At  these  words  their  eyes  were  raised  to  the 
skies,  and  Jesus  said  :  whoever  admires  the  stars  and  the 
flowers  finds  God  in  his  heart  and  sees  him  in  his  neighbour's 
face.  And  as  Joseph  sat,  his  hands  on  his  knees,  he  recalled 
the  moment  that  Jesus  turned  from  him  abruptly  and  passed 
into  the  shadow  of  the  hillside  that  fell  across  the  flowering 
mead.  He  heard  his  footsteps  and  had  listened,  repressing 
the  passionate  desire  to  follow  him  and  to  say :  having  found 
thee,  I  can  leave  thee  never  again.  It  was  fear  of  Jesus 
that  prevented  him  from  following  Jesus,  and  he  returned 
slowly  the  way  he  came,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  stars,  for  the 
day  was  now  well  behind  the  hills  and  the  night  all  over  the 


126  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

valley,  calm  and  still.  The  stars  in  their  allotted  places,  he 
said  :  as  they  have  always  been  and  always  will  be.  He 
stood  watching  them.  Behind  the  stars  that  twinkled  were 
stars  that  blazed ;  behind  the  stars  that  blazed  were  smaller 
stars,  and  behind  them  a  sort  of  luminous  dust.  "And  all 
this  immensity  is  God's  dwelling-place,"  he  said.  The  stars 
are  God's  eyes ;  we  live  under  his  eyes  and  he  has  given  us  a 
beautiful  garden  to  live  in.  Are  we  worthy  of  it .''  he  asked ; 
and  Jew  though  he  was  he  forgot  God  for  a  moment  in  the 
Sweetness  of  the  breathing  of  earth,  for  there  is  no  more 
lovely  plain  in  the  spring  of  the  year  than  the  Plain  of 
Gennesaret. 

Every  breath  of  air  brought  a  new  and  exquisite  scent  to 
him,  and  through  the  myrtle  bushes  he  could  hear  the  streams 
singing  their  way  down  to  the  lake;  and  when  he  came  to 
the  lake's  edge  he  heard  the  warble  that  came  into  his  ear 
when  he  was  a  little  child,  which  it  retained  always.  He 
heard  it  in  Egypt,  under  the  Pyramids,  and  the  cataracts 
of  the  Nile  were  not  able  to  silence  it  in  his  ears.  But  sud- 
denly from  among  the  myrtle  bushes  a  song  arose.  It  began 
with  a  little  phrase  of  three  notes,  which  the  bird  repeated, 
as  if  to  impress  the  Hstener  and  prepare  him  for  the  runs  and 
trills  and  joyous  little  cadenzas  that  were  to  follow.  A 
sudden  shower  of  jewels  it  seemed  like,  and  when  the  last 
drops  had  fallen  the  bird  began  another  song,  a  continua- 
tion of  the  first,  but  more  voluptuous  and  intense;  and 
then,,  as  if  he  felt  that  he  had  set  the  theme  sufficiently,  he 
started  away  into  new  trills  and  shakes  and  runs,  piling 
cadenza  upon  cadenza  till  the  theme  seemed  lost,  but  the 
bird  held  it  in  memory  while  all  his  musical  extravagances 
were  flowing,  and  when  the  inevitable  moment  came  he 
repeated  the  first  three  notes.  Again  Joseph  heard  the 
warbling  water,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  hear 
the  stars  throbbing.  It  was  one  of  those  moments  when 
the  soul  of  man  seems  to  break,  to  yearn  for  that  original 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  127 

unity  out  of  which  some  sad  fate  has  cast  it  —  a  moment 
when  the  world  seems  to  be  one  thing  and  not  several  things  : 
the  stars  and  the  stream,  the  odours  afloat  upon  the  stream, 
the  bird's  song  and  the  words  of  Jesus :  whosoever  admires 
the  stars  and  flowers  finds  God  in  his  heart,  seemed  to  be- 
come all  blended  into  one  extraordinary  harmony;  and 
unable  to  resist  the  emotion  of  the  moment  any  longer, 
Joseph  threw  himself  upon  the  ground  and  prayed  that  the 
moment  he  was  living  in  might  not  be  taken  from  him,  but 
that  it  might  endure  for  ever.  But  while  he  prayed,  the 
moment  was  passing,  and  becoming  suddenly  aware  that 
it  had  gone,  he  rose  from  his  knees  and  returned  home 
mentally  weary  and  sad  at  heart;  but  sitting  on  his  bedside 
the  remembrance  that  he  was  to  meet  Jesus  in  the  morning 
at  Capernaum  called  up  the  ghost  of  a  departed  ecstasy, 
and  his  head  drowsing  upon  his  pillow  he  fell  asleep,  hushed 
by  remembrances. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  FEW  hours  later  he  was  speeding  along  the  lake's  edge 
in  the  bright  morning,  happy  as  the  bird  singing  in  the  skies, 
when  the  thought  hke  a  dagger-thrust  crossed  his  mind 
that  being  the  son  of  a  rich  man  Jesus  could  not  receive  him 
as  a  disciple,  only  the  poor  were  welcome  into  the  brother- 
hood of  the  poor.  His  father  had  told  him  as  much,  and  the 
beggar  whom  he  had  met  under  the  cliffs,  smelling  of  rags 
and  raw  garlic,  expressed  the  riches  of  simplicity.  Happy, 
happy  evening,  for  ever  gone  by !  Happy  ignorance  already 
turned  into  knowledge !  For  in  Peter's  house  Jesus  would 
hear  that  the  man  whom  he  had  met  under  the  cliffs  was  the 
son  of  the  fish-salter  of  Magdala,  and  perhaps  they  knew 
enough  of  his  story  to  add,  who  has  been  making  money  in 
Jerusalem  himself  and  has  no  doubt  come  to  Galilee  to 
engage  his  father  in  some  new  trade  that  will  extort  more 
money  from  the  poor.  He  is  not  for  thy  company.  A 
great  aversion  seized  him  for  Capernaum,  and  he  walked, 
overcome  with  grief,  to  the  lake's  edge  and  stooped  to  pick 
up  a  smooth  stone,  thinking  to  send  it  skimming  over  the 
water,  as  he  used  to  when  a  boy ;  but  there  was  neither  the 
will  nor  the  strength  in  him  for  the  innocent  sport,  and  he 
lay  down,  exhausted  in  mind  and  body,  to  lament  this  new 
triumph  of  the  demon  that  from  the  beginning  of  his  life 
thwarted  him  and  interrupted  all  his  designs  —  this  time 
intervening  at  the  last  moment  as  if  with  a  purpose  of  great 
cruelty.  This  demon  seemed  to  him  to  descend  out  of  the 
blue  air  and  sometimes  to  step  out  of  the  blue  water,  and 
Joseph  was  betimes  moved  to  rush  into  the  lake,  for  there 

128 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  129 

seemed  to  him  no  other  way  of  escaping  from  him.  Then 
he  would  turn  back  from  the  foam  and  the  reeds,  and  pray 
to  the  demon  to  leave  him  for  some  little  while  in  peace : 
let  me  be  with  Jesus  for  a  little  while,  and  then  I'll  do  thy 
bidding.  Tie  the  tongues  of  those  that  would  tell  him  I'm 
the  son  of  a  rich  man  —  Simon  Peter,  James  and  John,  sons 
of  Zebedee.  James  would  say  a  word  in  his  favour,  but 
Jesus  would  answer :  why  did  he  not  tell  these  things  to  me 
overnight  ?  And  if  he  loves  me,  why  does  he  not  rid  himself 
of  the  wealth  that  separates  him  from  me  ? 

Well,  young  master,  cried  somebody  behind  him,  now 
what  be  ye  thinking  over  this  fine  morning  ?  Of  the  fish 
the  nets  will  bring  to  be  safely  packed  away  in  your  father's 
barrels  ?  My  father's  barrels  be  accursed !  Joseph  ex- 
claimed, springing  to  his  feet.  And  why  dost  thou  call  me 
master  ?  I'm  not  master,  nor  art  thou  servant.  And  then, 
his  eyes  opening  fully  to  the  external  world,  he  recognized 
the  nearly  hunchback  Philip  of  Capernaum  —  a  high-necked, 
thick-set  fellow,  in  whom  a  hooked  nose  and  prominent  eyes 
were  the  distinguishing  features.  A  sail-maker,  that  spoke 
with  a  sharp  voice,  and  Joseph  remembered  him  as  combin- 
ing the  oddest  innocence  of  mind  regarding  spiritual  things 
with  a  certain  shrewdness  in  the  conduct  of  his  business. 
Thy  voice  startled  me  out  of  a  dream,  Joseph  said,  and  I 
knew  not  what  I  said.  Beg  pardon,  master  —  but  the 
word  "Sir"  you  like  no  better,  and  it  would  sound  unseemly 
to  call  you  "Joseph'*  and  no  more.  As  we  are  not  born  the 
same  height  nor  strength  nor  wits,  such  little  differences  as 
"Sir"  and  "Master"  get  into  our  speech.  All  those  that 
love  God  are  the  same,  and  there  is  neither  class  nor  wealth, 
only  love,  Joseph  answered  passionately.  That  is  the  teach- 
ing of  the  new  prophet  Jesus,  Philip  replied,  his  yapping 
voice  assuming  an  inveigling  tone  or  something  like  one.  I 
was  in  Magdala  yester  evening,  and  spent  the  night  in  my 
debtor's  house,  and  as  we  were  figuring  out  the  principal 

K 


I30  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

and  interest  a  neighbour  came  in,  and  among  his  several 
news  was  that  you  were  seen  walking  with  Jesus  by  the  lake 
in  the  direction  of  Capernaum.  We  were  glad  to  hear  that, 
for  having  only  returned  to  us  last  night  you  did  not  know 
that  Jesus  has  become  a  great  man  in  these  parts,  especially 
since  he  has  come  to  lodge  in  Simon  Peter's  house.  That 
was  a  great  step  for  him.  But  I  must  be  hastening  away, 
for  a  meeting  is  at  Simon  Peter's  house.  And  I  have 
promised  Jesus  to  be  there  too,  Joseph  answered.  Then 
we  may  step  the  way  out  together,  Philip  answered,  looking 
up  into  Joseph's  face,  and  —  as  if  he  read  there  encourage- 
ment to  speak  out  the  whole  of  his  mind  —  he  continued  : 

I  was  saying  that  it  was  a  great  step  up  for  him  when 
Simon  Peter  took  him  to  lodge  in  his  house,  for  beforetimes 
he  had,  as  the  saying  is,  no  place  to  lay  his  head  :  an  outcast 
from  Cana,  whither  he  went  first  to  his  mother's  house,  and 
it  is  said  he  turned  water  into  wine  on  one  occasion  at  a 
marriage  feast ;  but  that  cannot  be  true,  for  if  it  were,  there 
is  no  reason  that  I  can  see  why  he  should  stay  his  hand  and 
not  turn  all  water  into  wine.  To  which  Joseph  replied  that 
it  would  be  a  great  misfortune,  for  the  greater  part  of  men 
would  be  as  drunk  as  Noah  was  when  he  planted  a  vineyard, 
and  we  know  how  Lot's  daughters  turned  their  father's 
drunkenness  to  account.  Moreover,  Philip,  if  Jesus  had 
turned  all  the  water  into  wine  there  would  be  no  miracle, 
for  a  miracle  is  a  special  act  performed  by  someone  whom 
God  has  chosen  as  an  instrument.  It  is  as  likely  as  not. 
Master,  that  you  be  right  in  what  you  say,  for  there's  no 
saying  what  is  true  and  what  is  false  in  this  world,  for  what 
one  man  says  another  man  denies,  and  it  is  not  even  certain 
that  all  men  see  and  hear  alike.  But,  Philip,  thou  must 
remember  that  though  men  neither  hear  nor  see  alike,  yet 
the  love  of  God  is  the  same  in  every  man.  But  is  it  ?  Philip 
asked.  For  can  it  be  denied  that  some  men  love  God  in  the 
hope  that  God  may  do  something  for  them,  while  others  love 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  131 

God  lest  he  may  punish  them.  But  methinks  that  such 
love  as  that  is  more  fear  than  love ;  and  then  there  are  others 
that  can  love  God  —  well,  just  because  it  seems  to  them  that 
God  is  by  them,  just  as  I'm  by  you  at  the  present  moment. 
Jesus  is  such  an  one.  But  there  be  not  many  like  him,  and 
that  was  why  his  teaching  found  no  favour  either  in  Cana 
or  in  Nazareth.  In  them  parts  they  knew  that  he  was  the 
carpenter's  son,  and  his  mother  and  his  brothers  and  sisters 
were  a  hindrance  to  him,  for  thinking  him  a  bit  queer,  they 
came  ofttimes  to  the  synagogues  to  ask  him  to  come  home 
with  them,  for  they  are  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  such  talk 
as  his  will  bring  him  no  good  in  the  end,  for  priests  are  strong 
everywhere  and  have  the  law  of  the  land  on  their  side,  for 
governors  would  make  but  poor  shift  to  govern  without 
them.  But  why  then,  Philip,  shouldst  thou  who  art  a 
cautious  man,  be  going  to  Peter's  house  to  meet  him  .''  Well, 
that's  the  question  I've  been  asking  myself  all  the  morning 
till  I  came  upon  you.  Master,  sitting  by  the  lake,  and  not 
unlikely  you  were  asking  yourself  the  same  question,  sitting 
over  yonder  by  the  lake  all  by  yourself.  He  casts  a  spell 
upon  me,  I'm  thinking,  and  has,  it  would  seem  to  me,  cast 
one  upon  you,  for  you  went  a  long  way  with  him  last  night, 
by  all  accounts.  I'd  have  it  from  thee,  Philip,  how  long 
he  has  been  in  these  parts  ?  Well,  I  should  say  it  must  be 
two  years  or  thereabouts  that  he  came  up  from  Jericho, 
staying  but  a  little  while  in  Jerusalem  and  going  on  to  his 
mother  at  Cana,  and  afterwards  trying  his  luck,  as  I  have 
said,  in  Nazareth.  But  his  mother  hasn't  seen  him  for  many 
a  year  ?     He  has  been  away  since  childhood,  living  with  a 

certain  sect  of  Jews  called  the  Essenes,  and  it  was  John 

Yes,  I  know  John  was  baptizing  in  Jordan,  Joseph  inter- 
rupted, and  he  baptized  Jesus.  And  after  that  he  went  into 
the  desert,  said  Philip  hurriedly,  for  he  did  not  like  being 
interrupted  in  his  story.  He  came  up  to  Nazareth,  I  was 
saying,  about  two  years  ago,  but  was  thrown  out  of  that  city 


132  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

and  came  here ;  he  was  more  fortunate  here,  picking  up  bits 
of  food  from  the  people  now  and  then,  who,  thinking  him 
harmless,  let  him  sleep  in  art  odd  hole  or  corner;  but  he 
must  have  often  been  like  dying  of  hunger  by  the  wayside, 
for  he  was  always  travelling,  going  his  rounds  from  village 
to  village.  But  luck  was  on  his  side,  and  when  he  was  near 
dying  a  traveller  would  come  by  and  raise  him  and  give  him 
a  little  wine.  He  is  one  of  those  that  can  do  with  little,  and 
after  the  first  few  months  he  had  the  luck  to  cast  out  one 
or  two  devils,  and  finding  he  could  cast  out  devils,  he  turned 
to  the  healing  of  the  sick ;  and  many  is  the  withered  limb 
that  he  put  right,  and  many  a  lame  man  he  has  set  walking 
with  as  good  a  stride  as  we  are  taking  now,  and  many  a  blind 
man's  eyes  he  has  opened,  and  the  scrofulous  he  cured  by 
looking  at  them  —  so  it  is  said.  And  so  his  fame  grew  from 
day  to  day ;  the  people  love  him,  for  he  asks  no  money  from 
them,  which  is  a  sure  way  into  men's  affections;  but  those 
whose  children  he  has  cured  cannot  see  him  go  away  hungry, 
and  they  put  a  loaf  into  his  shirt,  for  he  takes  anything  that 
he  can  get  except  money,  which  he  will  not  look  upon.  There 
has  been  no  holier  man  in  these  parts.  Sir,  these  many  years. 
The  oldest  in  the  country  cannot  remember  one  like  him  — 
my  father  is  nearer  ninety  than  eighty,  and  he  says  that 
Jesus  is  a  greater  man  than  he  ever  heard  his  father  tell  of, 
and  he  was  well  into  the  eighties  before  he  died.  Now,  Sir, 
as  we  are  near  to  Peter's  house,  you'll  not  mind  my  telling 
you  that  there  is  no  "Sir"  or  "Master"  at  Peter's  house. 
But,  Philip,  has  it  not  already  been  said  that  thou  may  drop 
such  titles  as  "Sir"  and  "Master"  in  addressing  me?  And 
wert  thou  not  at  one  with  me  that  we  should  be  more  cour- 
teous and  friendly  one  between  the  other  without  them  ? 
Well,  yes.  Master,  I  do  recollect  some  such  talk  between  us, 
but  now  that  we  be  coming  into  Capernaum  it  would  be 
well  that  I  should  call  you  "Joseph,"  but  "Joseph"  would 
be  difficult  to  me  at  first,  and  we  are  all  brothers  amongst 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  133 

us,  only  Jesus  is  Master  over  all  of  us,  and  God  over  him. 
But  it  now  strikes  my  mind  that  I  have  not  told  you  how 
Jesus  and  Peter  became  acquainted. 

One  day  as  Jesus  was  passing  on  his  rounds  a  man  ran 
out  of  his  house  and  besought  him  to  help  him  to  stop 
some  boys  who  were  playing  drums  and"  fifes  and  psalteries, 
saying  to  him  :  I  know  not  who  thou  art,  but  my  wife's 
mother  is  dying  of  fever,  and  the  boys  jeer  at  me  and  show 
no  mercy.  Let  us  take  stones  and  cast  them  at  them. 
But  Jesus  answered :  no  stone  is  required ;  and  turning 
to  the  boys  he  said  :  boys,  all  this  woman  asks  of  you  is 
to  be  allowed  to  die  in  quiet,  and  you  may  ask  the  same 
thing  some  day,  and  that  day  may  not  be  long  delayed. 
Whereupon  the  boys  were  ashamed,  and  Jesus  followed 
Peter  into  his  house  and  took  his  wife's  mother's  hand  and 
lifted  her  up  a  little  and  placed  her  head  upon  the  pillow 
and  bade  her  sleep,  which  she  did,  and  seeing  that  he  had 
such  power  Peter  asked  him  to  remain  in  the  house  till  his 
mother-in-law  opened  her  eyes,  which  he  did,  and  he  has 
been  there  ever  since.  Now  here  we  are  at  the  pathway 
through  which  Jesus  comes  and  goes  every  day  on  his  mis- 
sion of  healing  and  preaching  the  love  of  God.  Your  father, 
Sir,  is  much  opposed  to  Jesus,  who  he  says  has  persuaded 
Peter  away  from  his  fishing  and  James  and  John  and  many 
others,  but  no  doubt  your  father  told  you  these  things  last 
night. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

YONDER  is  Capernaum  —  or,  it  would  have  been  more 
in  our  speech  had  I  said,  why,  brother,  yonder  is  Capernaum. 
But  habit's  like  a  fly,  brother,  it  won't  leave  us  alone,  it 
comes  back  however  often  and  angrily  we  may  drive  it  away. 
Joseph  made  no  reply,  hoping  by  silence  to  quiet  Philip's 
tongue,  which  returned  to  the  attack,  he  was  fain  to  admit, 
not  altogether  unlike  a  fly.  He  tried  not  to  hear  him, 
for  the  sight  of  the  town  at  the  head  of  the  lake  awakened 
recollections  of  himself  and  his  nurse  walking  vaHantly, 
their  strength  holding  out  till  they  reached  Capernaum, 
but  after  eating  at  the  inn  they  were  too  weary  to  return  to 
Magdala  on  foot  and  Peter  had  had  to  take  them  back  in 
his  boat.  Peter's  boat  was  his  adventure  in  those  days, 
and  strangely  distinct  the  day  rose  up  in  his  mind  that  he 
and  Peter  had  gone  forth  firm  in  the  resolution  that  they 
would  ascend  the  Jordan  as  far  as  the  Waters  of  Merom.  They 
succeeded  in  dragging  the  boat  over  the  shallows,  but  there 
was  much  wind  on  the  distant  lake.  Peter  thought  it  would 
not  be  well  to  venture  out  upon  it,  and  Andrew  thought  so 
too.  He  was  now  going  to  see  those  two  brothers  again 
after  a  long  absence  and  was  not  certain  whether  he  was 
glad  or  sorry.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  lake,  its  towns  and 
villages,  were  too  inseparably  part  of  himself  for  him  to 
wish  to  see  them  with  the  physical  eyes,  and  that  it  would 
be  wiser  to  keep  this  part  of  Galilee,  the  upper  reaches  of  the 
lake  at  least,  for  his  meditations ;  yet  he  did  not  think  he 
would  like  to  return  to  Magdala  without  seeing  Caper- 
naum.    Perhaps    because    Jesus    was    there.     That    Jesus 

134 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  135 

should  have  pitched  upon  Capernaum  as  a  centre  revived 
his  interest  in  it,  and  there  was  a  certain  pathetic  interest 
attached  to  the  memory  of  a  question  he  once  put  to  his 
father.  He  asked  him  if  Capernaum  was  the  greatest  city 
in  the  world,  and  for  years  after  he  was  teased  till  Caper- 
naum became  hateful  to  him;  but  Capernaum  within  the 
last  few  minutes  regained  its  place  in  his  affections.  And 
as  the  town  became  hallowed  in  recollection  he  cried  out 
to  Philip  that  he  could  not  go  farther  with  him.  Not  go 
any  farther  with  me,  Philip  answered  :  now  why  is  that, 
brother,  for  Peter  is  waiting  to  see  you  and  will  take  on 
mightily  when  I  tell  him  that  you  came  to  the  head  of  the 
lake  with  me  and  turned  back.  But  it  is  Peter  whom  I 
fear  to  meet,  Joseph  muttered,  and  then  at  the  sight  of  the 
long  lean  street  slanting  down  the  hillside  towards  the  lake, 
breaking  up  into  irregular  hamlets,  some  situated  at  the 
water's  edge  close  to  the  wharf  where  Peter's  boats  lay  gently 
rocking,  he  repeated  :  it  is  Peter  that  I  fear.  But  unwilling 
to  take  Philip  into  his  confidence  he  turned  as  if  to  go  back 
to  Magdala  without  further  words,  but  Philip  restrained 
him,  and  at  last  Joseph  confessed  his  grief  —  that  being  the 
son  of  a  rich  man  he  was  not  eligible  to  the  society  of  the 
poor.  You  will  ask  me,  he  said,  to  give  up  my  money  to 
the  poor,  a  thing  I  would  willingly  do  for  the  sake  of  Jesus, 
whom  I  believe  to  be  God's  prophet;  but  how  can  I  give 
that  which  does  not  belong  to  me  —  my  father's  money  ? 
That  was  my  grief  when  you  found  me  sitting  on  the  stone 
by  the  lake's  edge. 

Whereupon  Philip  stood  looking  at  Joseph  as  one  sus- 
pended, for  the  first  time  understanding  rightly  that  the 
rich  have  their  troubles  as  well  as  the  poor.  At  last  words 
coming  to  him  he  said  :  money  has  been  our  trouble  since 
Jesus  drew  us  together,  for  we  would  do  without  money 
and  yet  we  know  not  how  this  is  to  be  done.  Like  you. 
Sir,  I'm  asking  if  I'm  to  sell  my  sails,  those  already  out  and 


136  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

those  in  the  unrolled  material,  and  if  I  do  sell  and  give 
the  money  to  the  poor  how  am  I  to  live  but  by  begging 
of  those  that  have  not  given  their  all.  But  why  should 
I  worry  you  with  our  troubles  ?  But  your  troubles  are 
mine,  Joseph  answered;  and  Philip  went  away  to  fetch 
Peter,  who,  he  said,  would  be  able  to  tell  him  if  Jesus  could 
accept  a  rich  man  as  a  disciple.  If  a  man  that  has  a  little 
be  permitted  to  remain,  who  is  to  say  how  much  means 
interdiction  ?  Joseph  asked  himself  as  he  kept  watch  for 
Peter  to  appear  at  -the  corner  of  the  street.  And  does  he 
know  the  Master's  mind  enough  to  answer  the  question  of 

my  admission  or  The  sentence  did  not  finish  in  his 

mind,  for  Peter  was  coming  up  the  street  at  that  moment, 
a  great  broad  face  coming  into  its  features  and  expression. 
The  same  high-shouldered  fisher  as  of  yore,  Joseph  said  to 
himself,  and  he  sought  to  read  in  Peter's  face  the  story  of 
Peter's  transference  from  one  master  to  another.  It  wasn't 
the  approach  of  the  Great  Day,  he  said,  for  Peter  never 
could  see  beyond  his  sails  and  the  fins  of  a  fish ;  and  if  Jesus 
were  able  to  lift  his  thoughts  beyond  them  he  had  accom- 
plished a  no  less  miracle  than  turning  water  into  wine. 

Well,  young  Master,  he  said,  we're  glad  to  have  you 
back  among  us  again.  There  be  no  place  like  home  for 
us  Galileans.  Isn't  that  so  ?  And  no  fishing  like  that  on 
these  coasts  ?  But,  Peter,  Joseph  interrupted,  my  father 
tells  me  that  thou  hast  laid  aside  thy  nets  —  but  that  isn't 
what  I'm  here  to  talk  to  thee  about,  he  interjected  sud- 
denly, but  about  Jesus  himself,  whom  I've  been  seeking 
for  nearly  two  years,  very  nearly  since  I  parted  from  you 
all,  well  nigh  two  years  ago,  isn't  it  ?  I've  sought  him  in  the 
hills  of  Judea,  in  Moab,  in  the  Arabian  desert  and  all  the 
way  to  Egypt  and  back  again.  It's  about  two  years  since 
you  went  away  on  your  travels.  Master  Joseph,  and  a  great 
fine  story  there'll  be  for  us  to  listen  to  when  our  nets  are 
down,  Peter  said.     I'd  ask  you  to  begin  it  now,  Master 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  137 

Joseph,  weren't  it  that  the  Master  is  waiting  for  us  over 
yonder  in  my  house.  And  from  what  Philip  tells  me  you 
would  have  my  advice  about  joining  our  Community, 
Master  Joseph.  You've  seen  no  doubt  a  good  deal  of  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem  and  know  everything  about  the  goings 
on  there,  and  are  with  us  in  this  —  that  the  Lord  don't 
want  no  more  fat  rams  and  goats  and  bullocks,  and  incense 
is  hateful  in  his  nostrils.  So  I've  heard.  They  be  Isaiah's 
words,  aren't  they,  young  Master  ?  But  there's  no  master 
here,  only  Jesus:  he  is  Master,  and  if  I  call  you  "Master" 
it  is  from  habit  of  beforetimes.  But  no  offence  intended. 
You  always  will  be  master  for  me,  and  I'll  be  servant  always 
in  a  sense,  which  won't  prevent  us  from  being  brothers. 
The  Master  yonder  will  understand  and  will  explain  it  all 
to  you  better  than  I  .  .  .  And  Peter  nodded  his  great 
head  covered  with  frizzly  hair.  But,  Peter,  I  am  a  rich 
man,  and  my  father  is  too,  and  none  but  the  poor  is 
admitted  into  the  Community  of  Jesus.  That's  what 
affrights  him,  Peter  —  his  money,  Philip  interjected,  and  I 
have  been  trying  to  make  him  understand  that  Jesus  won*t 
ask  him  for  his  father's  money,  he  not  having  it  to  give 
away.  I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,  Peter  said.  The  Master 
told  us  a  story  yesterday  of  a  steward  who  took  his  master's 
money  and  gave  it  to  the  poor,  he  being  frightened  lest  the 
poor,  whom  he  hadn't  been  over-good  to  in  his  lifetime, 
might  not  let  him  into  heaven  when  he  died.  And  the 
Master  seemed  to  think  that  he  did  well,  for  he  said :  it  is 
well  to  bank  with  the  poor.  Them  were  his  very  words. 
So  it  seems  to  thee,  Peter,  that  I  should  take  my  father's 
money  ?  Joseph  asked.  Take  your  father's  money !  Peter 
answered.  We  wouldn't  wrong  your  father  out  of  the  price 
of  two  perch,  and  never  have  done,  neither  myself  nor  John 

and  James.     Now  I  won't  say  as  much  for We  love 

your  father,  and'  never  do  we  forget  that  when  our  nets 
were  washed  away  it  was  he  that  gave  us  new  ones.     I  am 


138  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

sure  thou  wouldst  not  wrong  my  father,  Joseph  answered, 
and  he  refrained  from  asking  Peter  to  explain  the  relevancy 
of  the  story  he  had  just  told  lest  he  should  entangle  him. 
It  is  better,  he  said  to  himself,  to  keep  to  facts,  and  he  told 
Peter  that  even  his  own  money  was  not  altogether  his  own 
money,  for  he  had  a  partner  in  Jericho  and  it  would  be  hard 
to  take  his  money  out  of  the  business  and  give  it  all  to  the 
poor.  Giving  it  to  the  poor  in  Galilee,  he  said,  would  de- 
prive my  camel-drivers  of  their  living.  Which,  Peter 
observed,  would  be  a  cruel  thing  to  do,  for  a  man  must  be 
allowed  to  get  his  living,  whether  he  be  from  Jericho  or 
Galilee,  fisher  or  camel-driver  or  sail-maker.  Which  re- 
minds me,  Philip,  that  thou  be'st  a  long  time  over  the  sail 
I  was  to  have  had  at  the  end  of  last  month.  And  the  twain 
began  to  wrangle  so  that  Joseph  thought  they  would  never 
end,  so  prolix  was  Philip  in  his  explanations.  He  had  had 
to  leave  the  sail  unsewn,  was  all  he  had  to  say,  but  he  em- 
broidered on  this  simple  fact  so  largely  that  Joseph  lost 
patience  and  began  to  tell  them  he  had  come  to  Galilee, 
Pilate  wishing  him  to  add  the  portage  of  wheat  from  Moab 
to  the  trade  already  started  in  figs  and  dates.  So  Pilate  is 
in  the  business,  Peter  ejaculated,  for  Peter  did  not  think 
that  a  Jew  should  have  any  dealings  with  Gentiles,  and  this 
opinion,  abruptly  expressed,  threw  the  discourse  again 
into  disarray.  But  Pilate  is  in  Jerusalem,  Joseph  began. 
And  has  he  brought  the  Roman  eagles  with  him  ?  Peter 
interrupted.  And  seeing  that  these  eagles  would  lead 
them  far  from  the  point  which  he  was  anxious  to  have 
settled  —  whether  the  trade  he  was  doing  between  Jeru- 
salem and  Jericho  prevented  him  from  being  a  disciple  — 
Joseph  began  by  assuring  Peter  that  the  eagles  had  been 
sent  back  to  Csesarea.  Cassarea,  Peter  muttered,  our 
Master  has  been  there,  and  says  it  be  as  full  as  it  can  hold 
of  graven  images.  Well,  Peter,  what  I  have  come  to  say 
is,  that  were  I  to  disappoint  Pilate  he  might  allow  the 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  139 

robbers  to  infest  the  hills  again,  and  all  my  money  would 
be  lost,  and  my  partner's  money,  and  the  camel-drivers 
would  be  killed ;  and  if  my  convoys  did  not  arrive  in  Jeru- 
salem there  might  be  bread  riots.  How  wouldst  like  that, 
Peter  ? 

Now  what  answer  have  ye  for  that,  Peter  ?  and  Philip 
looked  into  Peter's  great  broad  face.  Only  this,  Peter  an- 
swered, that  money  will  shipwreck  our  Community  sooner 
or  later  —  we're  never  free  from  it.  Like  a  fly,  Philip 
suggested,  the  more  we  chase  it  away  the  more  it  returns. 
The  fly  cannot  resist  a  sweating  forehead,  Philip,  Peter 
said.  Thine  own  is  more  sweaty  than  mine,  Philip  re- 
torted, and  a  big  blue  fly  is  drinking  his  belly  full  though 
thou  feelest  him  not,  being  as  callous  as  a  camel.  The 
Master's  teaching  is,  Peter  continued,  having  driven  off 
the  fly,  that  no  man  should  own  anything,  that  everyone 
should  have  the  same  rights,  which  seems  true  enough  till 
we  begin  to  put  it  into  practice,  for  if  I  were  to  let  whoso- 
ever wished  take  my  boats  and  nets  to  go  out  fishing,  my 
boats  and  nets  would  be  all  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake  before 
the  sun  went  down  as  like  as  not,  for  all  men  don't  under- 
stand fishing.  As  we  must  have  fish  to  live  I  haven't  parted 
with  my  boats ;  but  every  time  we  take  that  turning  down 
yonder  to  the  lake's  edge  and  I  see  my  boats  rocking  I  offer 
up  a  little  prayer  that  the  Master  may  be  looking  the  other 
way  or  thinking  of  something  else.  James  and  John,  sons 
of  Zebedee,  are  of  the  same  mind  as  myself  —  that  we 
shouldn't  trouble  the  Master  too  closely  with  the  working 
out  of  his  teaching.  The  teaching  is  the  thing.  Why, 
they  be  coming  towards  us,  as  sure  as  my  name's  Simon 
Peter,  sent  perhaps  by  the  Master  to  fetch  us,  so  long  have 
we  been  away  talking. 

Joseph  turned  to  greet  the  two  young  men,  whom  he 
had  known  always ;  as  far  back  as  he  could  remember  he 
had  talked  to  them  over  the  oars,  and  seen  them  let  down 


I40  THE   BROOK  KERITH   ' 

the  nets  and  draw  up  the  nets,  and  they  had  hoisted  the 
sail  for  his  pleasure,  abandoning  the  fishing  for  the  day, 
knowing  well  that  Joseph's  father  would  pay  them  fop 
the  time  they  lost  in  pleasing  his  son.  And  now  they 
were  young  men  like  himself,  only  they  knew  no  Greek ; 
rough  young  men,  of  simple  minds  and  simple  life,  who 
were  drawn  to  Jesus  —  James  a  lean  man,  whose  small 
sullen  eyes,  dilatory  speech  and  vacant  little  laugh  used  to 
annoy  Joseph.  James  always  asked  him  to  repeat  the 
words  though  he  had  heard  perfectly.  Joseph  liked  John 
better,  for  his  mind  was  sturdy  and  his  voice  grew  sullen  at 
any  word  of  reproof  and  his  eyes  flamed,  and  Joseph  wondered 
what  might  be  the  authority  that  Jesus  held  over  him,  a 
rough  turbulent  fellow,  whom  Joseph  had  always  feared  a 
little;  even  now  in  their  greeting  there  was  a  certain  dread 
in  Joseph,  which  soon  vanished,  for  John's  words  were 
outspoken  and  hearty.  We're  glad  to  have  you  back  again 
amongst  us.  Master,  I've  been  saying  since  I  left  Capernaum 
this  morning.  But  "Master"  is  a  word,  John,  that  I've 
heard  isn't  used  among  you.  Truly  it  is  not  used  among 
the  brotherhood,  John  answered.  And  I  came  to  ask 
admission,  Joseph  said.  Well,  that  be  good  news,  Master — ■ 
brother  I  should  say,  for  our  Master  will  be  glad  to  meet 
thee.  But  that,  Philip  began,  is  just  the  matter  we  were 
speaking  of  among  ourselves  before  we  saw  thee  coming 
towards  us.  For  there  be  a  difficulty.  He  be  as  earnest 
as  any  of  us,  but  our  rule  is  what  thou  knowest  it  to  be. 
Despite  John's  knowledge  of  the  rule  Philip  began  the 
story,  and  again  he  was  so  prolix  in  it  that  Joseph,  wishing 
John  to  decide  on  the  strict  matter  of  it,  and  not  to  be 
lost  in  details,  some  of  which  were  true  and  some  of  which 
were  false  and  all  confused  in  Philip's  telling,  interrupted 
the  narrator,  saying  that  he  would  give  all  the  money  that 
was  strictly  his,  but  his  father's  he  couldn't  give  nor  his 
fvartner's.     We've  many  camels,  he  said,  in  common,  and 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  141 

how  are  these  to  be  divided  ?  Nor  is  it  right,  it  seems  to 
me,  that  my  partner  should  be  left  with  the  burden  of  all  the 
trade  we  have  created  together;  yet  it  is  hard  that  I  who 
have  sought  Jesus  in  the  deserts  of  Judea  as  far  as  Egypt, 
and  found  him  in  Galilee,  at  home,  should  be  forced  to 
range  myself  apart  from  him,  with  whom  my  heart  is. 
Would  that  the  Master  were  here  to  hear  him  speak,  Philip 
interjected.  He  was  with  the  Master  last  night,  and  the 
Master  was  well  pleased  with  him.  It  all  depends  on 
what  mood  the  Master  be  in,  John  answered,  and  they  all 
fell  to  asking  each  other  what  the  Master's  mood  was  that 
morning.  But  it  would  seem  that  all  read  him  differently, 
and  it  was  with  joy  at  the  prospect  of  a  new  opinion  that 
they  viewed  Judas  coming  towards  them. 

And  taking  Judas  into  the  discussion  Peter  said  :  now 
I've  two  boats,  and  John  and  James  have  four,  so  we  aren't 
without  money,  though  our  riches  are  small  compared  with 
the  young  Master's.  Are  we  to  sell  our  boats  and  give  the 
money  to  the  poor,  and  if  we  do  who  then  will  look  after 
the  Master's  wants  ?  They  are  small,  it  is  true,  a  bit  of 
fish  and  bread  every  day,  and  a  roof  over  his  head  ;  but 
who  will  give  him  a  roof  if  mine  be  taken  from  me  ?  Is 
not  this  so  ?  All  seemed  in  agreement,  and  Peter  con- 
tinued :  I  am  thinking,  John,  that  our  new  brother  might 
help  us  to  buy  the  Master  a  new  cloak,  for  his  is  falling  to 
pieces  and  my  wife's  mother  is  weary  with  patching  it. 
He  cured  her  of  the  fever,  but  she  thinks  that  a  great  cost 
is  put  upon  me  and  would  ask  the  Master  something  for 
his  keep.  Whereupon  John  spoke  out  that  the  story  of 
his  mother-in-law  was  for  ever  the  same ;  and  seeing  that 
he  was  offending  Peter  with  the  words  he  addressed  against 
his  wife's  mother,  though  indeed  Peter  liked  her  not  too 
much  himself,  Joseph  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  said  : 
here  are  some  shekels,  go  and  buy  Jesus  a  cloak,  but  say 
not  to  him  whence  the  money  came. 


142  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

Say  not  to  him !  Judas  interjected.  No  need  to  tell 
him  that  can  read  the  thoughts  in  the  mind.  It  would  be 
better  for  the  young  Master  to  give  him  one  of  his  old 
cloaks.  Jesus  would  question  the  new  cloak  and  say  it 
savours  of  money.  He  sees  into  the  heart.  We  have  tried 
to  keep  things  from  him  before,  Judas  continued,  turning 
to  Joseph.  ...  It  is  our  duty  to  save  him  as  much  as  we 
can.  Peter  has  done  much  and  I've  shared  the  expense 
with  Peter,  though  I  am  a  poor  man ;  we  pick  the  stones 
from  his  path,  for  he  walks  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
Kingdom  of  God  always.  Yes,  he  sees  into  our  hearts, 
Philip  interrupted,  and  reads  through  all  we  are  thinking 
even  before  the  thoughts  come  into  our  minds.  It  is  as 
Philip  says,  Judas  muttered  :  our  hearts  are  open  to  him 
always.  But  James,  who  had  not  spoken  till  now,  put 
forward  the  opinion,  and  no  one  seemed  inclined  to  gainsay 
it,  that  if  Jesus  knew  men's  thoughts  before  they  came 
into  men's  minds  he  must  be  warned  of  them  by  the  angels. 
He  goes  into  the  solitude  of  the  mountains  to  converse 
with  the  angels,  James  said  —  for  what  else  ?  Moses 
went  into  the  clefts  of  Mount  Sinai,  Joseph  added,  and  he 
asked  Peter  to  tell  him  if  Jesus  believed  that  the  soul  existed 
apart  from  the  body,  at  which  question  Peter  was  fairly 
embarrassed,  for  the  soul  must  be  somewhere,  he  said,  and 

if  there  be  no  body  to  contain  it You  must  ask  the 

Master  about  these  things,  we  have  not  considered  them. 
All  the  same  we  are  glad  that  you  are  with  us  and  ready  to 
follow  him  into  danger,  for  if  the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees 
are  against  him  we  are  with  him.  Is  that  not  so,  sons  of 
Zebedee  ? 

At  the  challenge  the  two  lads  came  forward  again  and 
all  began  to  talk  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  disciples  catching  upon  Joseph,  he,  too,  was 
soon  talking  of  the  Kingdom  that  was  to  come,  and  whether 
they  should  all  go  down  to  Jerusalem  together  to  meet  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  143 

Kingdom  and  share  it,  or  wait  for  it  to  appear  in  Galilee. 
Share  and  share  alike,  Joseph  said.  Ay,  ay,  sure  we  shall, 
and  enjoy  it,  Peter  rolled  out  at  his  elbow.  But  we  must 
set  our  hearts  in  patience,  for  there  be  a  rare  lot  to  be  con- 
verted yet.  Every  man  must  have  his  chance,  and  seeing 
Jesus  coming  towards  him  Peter  waited  till  Jesus  was  by 
him.  Haven't  I  thy  promise.  Master,  he  asked,  laying  his 
hand  on  Jesus'  shoulder,  that  my  chair  in  Kingdom  Come 
will  be  next  to  thine  ?  Before  Jesus  could  answer  John  and 
James  asked  him  if  their  chairs  would  not  be  on  his  left  and 
right.  But  not  next  to  the  Master's,  Peter  answered.  I'm 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  Master,  and  my  brother  Andrew  on 
the  left.  Look  into  his  face  and  read  in  it  that  I  have  said 
well.  But  the  disciples  were  not  minded  to  read  the  Master's 
face  as  Peter  instructed  them  to  read  it,  and  might  have 
come  to  gripping  each  other's  throats  if  Jesus  had  not  asked 
them  if  they  would  have  the  fat  in  the  narrow  chairs  and  the 
thin  in  the  wide,  as  often  happens  in  this  world.  The 
spectacle  of  Peter  trying  to  sit  on  James'  chair  set  them 
laughing,  and  as  if  to  make  an  end  of  an  unseemly  dis- 
putation John  asked  the  Master  whither  they  were  going 
to  cure  the  sick  that  day  .?  To  which  question  Jesus  made 
no  answer,  for  he  felt  no  power  on  him  that  day  to  cure 
the  sick  or  to  cast  out  demons.  You'll  see  him  do  these 
things  on  another  occasion,  Peter  whispered  in  Joseph's 
ear;  to-day  he's  deep  in  one  of  his  meditations,  and  we 
dare  not  ask  him  whither  he  be  going,  but  must  just  fol- 
low him.     As  likely  as  not  he'll  lead  us  up  into  the  hills 

for But  I  see  Salome  coming  this  way.     You  know  her 

sons,  John  and  James.  The  woman  bears  me  an  ill  will 
and  would  have  my  chair  set  far  down,  belike  as  not  be- 
tween Nathaniel  and  Philip,  who  as  you  have  noticed  do 
not  hold  their  heads  very  high  in  our  company.  But  let 
us  hasten  a  little  to  hear  what  she  has  to  say.  Listen, 
'tis  as  I  said,  Master,  Peter  continued;    you  heard  her  ask 


144  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

him  that  her  sons  should  sit  on  either  side  of  him.  Now 
mark  his  answer,  if  he  answers  her;  I  doubt  if  he  will,  so 
dark  is  his  mood. 

But  dark  though  It  was  he  answered  her  with  a  seeming 
cheerfulness  that  in  the  coming  world  there  is  neither 
weariness  of  spirit  nor  of  body,  and  therefore  chairs  are 
not  set  in  heaven.  A  fine  answer  that,  and  Peter  chuckled ; 
too  wise  for  thee.  Go  home  and  ponder  on  it.  We  shall 
lie  on  couches  when  we  are  not  flying,  he  added,  and  being 
in  doubt  he  asked  Joseph  if  the  heavenly  host  was  always 
on  the  wing.  A  question  that  seemed  somewhat  silly  to 
Joseph,  though  he  could  not  have  given  his  reason  for 
thinking  it  silly.  Peter  called  on  Jesus  to  hasten,  for  the 
disciples  were  half  way  up  the  principal  street  at  a  turning 
whither  their  way  led  through  the  town  by  olive  garths  and 
orchards,  and  finding  a  path  through  these  they  came  upon 
green  corn  sown  in  patches  just  beginning  to  show  above 
ground,  and  the  fringe  of  the  wood  higher  up  the  hillside 
—  some  grey  bushes  with  young  oaks  starting  through 
them,  still  bare  of  leaves,  ferns  beginning  to  mark  green 
lanes  into  the  heart  of  the  woods,  and  certain  dark  wet 
places  where  the  insects  had  already  begun  to  hum.  But 
when  the  wood  opened  out  the  birds  were  talking  to  one 
another,  blackbird  to  blackbird,  thrush  to  thrush,  robin  to 
robin,  kin  understanding  kin,  and  every  bird  uttering  vain 
jargon  to  them  that  did  not  wear  the  same  beak  and  feathers, 
just  like  ourselves,  Joseph  said  to  himself,  and  he  stood 
stark  before  a  hollow  into  which  he  remembered  having 
once  been  forbidden  to  stray  lest  a  wolf  should  pounce 
upon  him  suddenly.  Now  he  was  a  man,  he  was  among 
men,  and  all  had  staves  in  their  hands,  and  the  thoughts 
of  wolves  departed  at  the  sight  of  a  wild  fruit  tree  before 
which  Jesus  stopped,  and  calling  John  and  James  to  him, 
as  if  he  had  forgotten  Peter,  he  said  :  you  see  that  tree 
covered  with  beautiful  blossoms,  but  the  harsh  wind  which 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  145 

is  now  blowing  along  the  hillside  will  bear  many  of  the 
blossoms  away  before  the  fruit  begins  to  gather.  And  the 
birds  will  come  and  destroy  many  a  berry  before  the  plucker 
comes  to   pick  the   few  that   remain   for  the   table.     How 

many   of  you    that    are  gathered  about  me  now He 

stopped  suddenly,  and  his  eyes  falling  on  John  he  addressed 
his  question  directly  to  him  as  if  he  doubted  that  Peter 
would  apprehend  the  significance  of  the  parable.  But 
Joseph,  whom  it  touched  to  the  quick,  was  moved  to  cry 
out,  Master,  I  understand;  restraining  himself,  however, 
or  his  natural  diffidence  restraining  him,  he  could  only  ask 
Peter  to  ask  Jesus  for  another  parable.  Peter  reproved 
Joseph,  saying  that  it  were  not  well  to  ask  anything  from 
the  Master  at  present,  but  that  his  mood  might  improve 
during  the  course  of  the  afternoon.  Thomas,  who  did 
not  know  the  Master  as  well  as  Peter,  could  not  keep  back 
the  question  that  rose  to  his  lips.  Our  trade,  he  said, 
is  in  apricots,  but  is  it  the  same  with  men  as  with  the  apri- 
cots, or  shall  we  live  to  see  the  fruit  that  thou  hast  prom- 
ised us  come  to  table  ?  Whereupon  James  and  John  be- 
gan to  ask  which  were  the  blossoms  among  them  that  would 
be  eaten  by  the  birds  and  insects  and  which  would  wither 
in  the  branches.  Shall  I  feed  the  insects.  Master  ^  Mat- 
thew asked,  or  shall  I  be  eaten  by  the  birds  ?  A  question 
that  seemed  to  everyone  so  stupid  that  none  was  surprised 
that  Jesus  did  not  answer  it,  but  turning  to  Philip  he  asked 
him :  canst  thou  not,  Philip,  divine  my  meaning  ?  But 
Philip,  though  pleased  to  come  under  the  Master's  notice, 
was  frightened,  and  could  think  of  no  better  answer  than 
that  the  apricots  they  would  eat  in  Paradise  would  be  better. 
For  there  are  no  harsh  winds  in  Paradise,  isn't  that  so. 
Master.''  Thy  question  is  no  better  than  Salome's,  Jesus 
answered,  who  sees  Paradise  ranged  with  chairs.  Then 
everyone  wondered  if  there  were  no  chairs  nor  apricots  in 
Paradise  of  what  good  would   Paradise  be  to  them ;    and 


146  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

were  dissatisfied  with  the  answer  that  Jesus  gave  to  them, 
that  the  soul  is  satisfied  in  the  love  of  God  as  the  flower  in 
the  sun.  But  with  this  answer  they  had  to  content  them- 
selves, for  so  dark  was  his  face  that  none  dared  to  ask  an- 
other question  till  Matthew  said  :  Master,  we  would  under- 
stand thee  fairly.  If  there  be  no  chairs  nor  apricots  in 
Paradise  there  cannot  be  a  temple  wherein  to  worship  God. 
To  which  Jesus  answered  :  God  hath  no  need  of  temples  in 
Paradise,  nor  has  he  need  of  any  temple  except  the  human 
heart  wherein  he  dwells.  It  is  not  with  incense  nor  the  blood 
of  sheep  and  rams  that  God  is  worshipped,  but  in  the  heart 
and  with  silent  prayers  unknown  to  all  but  God  himself, 
who  knows  all  things.  And  the  day  is  coming,  I  say  unto 
you,  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  return  with  his  Father  to 
remake  this  world  afresh,  but  before  that  time  comes  you 
would  do  well  to  learn  to  love  God  in  your  hearts,  else  all 
my  teaching  is  vainer  than  any  of  the  things  in  this  world 
that  ye  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  as  vain.  Upon  this 
he  took  them  to  a  mountain-side  where  the  rock  was  crum- 
bling, and  he  said  :  you  see  this  crumbling  rock  ?  Once  it 
held  together,  now  it  is  falling  into  sand,  but  it  shall  be  built 
up  into  rock  again,  and  again  it  shall  crumble  into  sand. 
At  which  they  drew  together  silent  with  wonder,  each  fear- 
ing to  ask  the  other  if  the  Master  were  mad,  for  though  they 
could  see  that  the  rock  might  drift  into  sand,  they  could  not 
see  how  sand  might  be  built  up  again  into  rock. 

Master,  how  shall  we  know  thee  when  thou  returnest 
to  us  ?  Wilt  thou  be  changed  as  the  rock  changes  ?  Wilt 
thou  be  sand  or  rock?  It  was  Andrew  that" had  spoken; 
and  Philip  answered  him  that  the  Master  will  return  in  a 
chariot  of  fire,  for  he  was  angry  that  a  fellow  of  Andrew's 
stupidity  should  put  questions  to  Jesus  whether  they  were 
wise  or  foolish ;  but  could  they  be  aught  else  than  foolish 
coming  from  him  ?  Andrew,  persisting,  replied :  but  we 
may  not  be  within  sight  of  the  Master  when  he  steps  out  of 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  147 

his  chariot  of  fire,  and  we  are  only  asking  for  a  token  where- 
by we  may  know  him  from  his  Father.  My  Father  and  thy 
Father,  Andrew,  Jesus  answered,  the  Father  of  all  that  has 
lived,  that  lives,  and  that  shall  .live  in  the  world;  and  the 
law  over  the  rock  that  crumbles  into  sand  and  the  sand  that 
is  built  up  into  rock  again,  was  in  that  rock  before  Abraham 
was,  and  will  abide  in  it  and  in  the  flower  that  grows  under 
the  rock  till  time  everlasting.  But,  Master,  wilt  thou  tell 
us  if  the  rock  we  are  looking  upon  was  sand  or  rock  in  the 
time  of  Abraham  ?  Philip  asked,  and  Jesus  answered  him  : 
my  words  are  not  then  plain,  that  before  that  rock  was  and 
before  the  sand  out  of  which  the  rock  was  built,  was  God's 
love  —  that  which  binds  and  unbinds  enduring  always 
though  the  rock  pass  into  sand  and  the  sand  into  rock  a 
thousand  times. 

And  it  was  then  that  a  disciple  poked  himself  up  to  Jesus 
to  ask  him  if  they  were  not  to  believe  the  Scriptures.  He 
answered  him  that  the  Scriptures  were  no  more  than  the 
love  of  God.  This  answer  did  not  quell  the  dissidents,  but 
caused  them  to  murmur  more  loudly  against  him,  and  Jesus, 
though  he  must  have  seen  that  he  was  about  to  lose  some 
disciples,  would  retract  nothing.  The  Scriptures  are,  he 
repeated,  but  the  love  of  God.  He  that  came  to  betray  him 
said :  and  the  Gentiles  that  haven't  the  Scriptures  ?  Jesus 
answered  that  all  men  that  have  the  love  of  God  in  their 
hearts  are  beloved  by  God.  Is  it  then  of  no  value  to  come 
of  the  stock  of  Abraham  ^  the  man  asked,  and  Jesus  replied  : 
none,  but  a  loss  if  ye  do  not  love  God,  for  God  asks  more  from 
those  whose  minds  he  has  opened  than  from  those  whose 
minds  he  has  suffered  to  remain  shut.  At  which  Peter  cried  : 
though  there  be  not  a  pint  of  wine  in  all  heaven  we  will  follow 
thee,  and  though  there  be  no  fish  in  heaven  but  the  scale- 
less  that  the  Gentiles  eat He  stopped  suddenly  and 

looked  at  Jesus,  saying :  there  are  no  Gentiles  in  heaven. 
Heaven  is  open  to  all  men  that  love  God,  Jesus  said,  and 


148  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

after  these  words  he  continued  to  look  at  Peter,  but  Hke 
one  that  sees  things  that  are  not  before  him  ;  and  the  residue 
followed  him  over  the  hills,  saying  to  themselves :  he  is 
thinking  about  this  journey  to  Jerusalem,  and  then  a  little 
later  one  said  to  the  others :  he  is  in  commune  with  the 
spirits  that  lead  him,  asking  them  to  spare  him  this  journey, 
for  he  knows  that  the  Pharisees  will  rise  up  against  him,  and 
will  stone  him  if  he  preach  against  the  Temple.  What  else 
should  he  preach  against  ?  asked  another  disciple ;  and  they 
continued  to  watch  Jesus,  trying  to  gather  from  his  face 
what  his  thoughts  might  be,  thinking  that  his  distant  eyes 
might  be  seeking  a  prediction  of  the  coming  kingdom  in  the 
sky.  We  might  ask  him  if  he  sees  the  kingdom  coming  this 
way,  an  apostle  whispered  in  the  ear  of  another,  and  was 
forthwith  silenced,  for  it  was  deemed  important  that  the 
Master  should  never  be  disturbed  in  his  meditations,  what- 
ever they  might  be. 

He  stood  at  gaze,  his  apostles  and  his  disciples  watch- 
ing from  a  little  distance,  recalling  the  day  his  dog  Coran 
refused  to  follow  him,  and  seeing  that  the  dog  had  something 
on  his  mind,  he  left  his  flock  in  charge  of  the  other  dogs  and 
followed  Coran  to  the  hills  above  the  Brook  Kerith,  down  a 
little  crumbling  path  to  Elijah's  cave.  He  found  John 
the  Baptist,  and  recognising  In  him  Elijah's  inheritor — at 
that  moment  a  flutter  of  wings  In  the  branches  awoke  him 
from  his  reverie,  and  seeing  his  disciples  about  him,  he  asked 
them  whose  inheritor  he  was.  Some  said  Elijah,  some  said 
Jeremiah,  some  said  Moses.  As  If  dissatisfied  with  these 
answers,  he  looked  into  their  faces,  as  If  he  would  read  their 
souls,  and  asked  them  to  look  up  through  the  tree  tops  and 
tell  him  what  they  could  see  In  a  certain  space  of  sky.  In 
fear  of  his  mood,  and  lest  he  might  call  them  feeble  of  sight 
or  purblind,  his  disciples,  or  many  among  them,  fell  to  dis- 
puting among  themselves  as  to  what  might  be  discerned  by 
human  eyes  In  the  cloud  ;  till  John,  thinking  to  raise  himself 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  149 

In  the  Master's  sight,  so  it  seemed  to  Joseph  (who  dared 
not  raise  his  eyes  to  the  sky,  but  bent  them  on  the  earth), 
said  that  he  could  see  a  chariot  drawn  by  seven  beasts,  each 
having  on  its  forehead  seven  horns ;  the  jaws  of  these  beasts, 
he  averred,  were  Uke  those  of  monkeys,  and  in  their  paws, 
he  said,  were  fourteen  golden  candlesticks.  Andrew,  being 
misled  by  the  colour  of  the  cloud,  which  was  yellow,  said 
that  the  seven  beasts  were  like  leopards ;  whereas  Philip 
deemed  that  the  beasts  were  not  leopards,  for  him  they  were 
bears ;  and  they  began  to  dispute  one  with  the  other,  some 
discerning  the  Father  Almighty  in  a  chariot,  describing  him 
to  be  a  man  garmented  in  white ;  his  hair  is  like  wool,  they 
said.  And  seated  beside  him  Matthew  saw  the  Son  of  Man 
with  an  open  book  on  his  knees.  But  these  visions,  to 
their  great  trouble,  did  not  seem  to  interest  Jesus;  or  not 
sufficiently  for  their  intention ;  and  to  the  mortification  of 
Peter  and  Andrew,  James  and  John,  he  turned  to  Thaddeus 
and  Aristion  and  asked  them  what  they  saw  in  the  clouds, 
and  partly  because  they  were  loath  to  say  they  could  see 
naught,  and  also  thinking  to  please  him,  they  began  to  see 
a  vision,  and  their  vision  was  an  angel  whom  they  could  hear 
crying :  at  thy  bidding,  O  Lord ;  on  which  he  emptied  his 
vial  into  the  Euphrates,  and  forthwith  the  river  was  turned 
to  blood.  The  second  angel  crying  likewise,  at  thy  bidding, 
O  Lord,  emptied  his  vial ;  and  when  the  third  angel  had 
emptied  his,  three  animals  of  the  shape  of  frogs  crawled  out 
of  the  river;  and  then  from  over  the  mountains  came  a 
great  serpent  to  devour  the  frog-shapen  beasts,  and  after 
devouring  them  he  vomited  forth  a  great  flood,  and  the 
woman  that  had  been  seated  on  it  was  borne  away.  It  was 
Thaddeus  that  spoke  the  last  words,  and  he  would  have  con- 
tinued if  Jesus'  eyes  had  not  warned  him  that  the  Master 
was  thinking  of  other  things,  perhaps  seeing  and  hearing 
other  things.  It  is  known  to  you  all,  he  said,  that  Jeremiah 
kneels  at  the  steps  of  my  Father's  throne  praying  for  the 


ISO  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

salvation  of  Israel  ?  Therefore  tell  me  what  is  your  under- 
standing of  the  words  "praying  for  the  salvation  of  Israel"  ? 
Was  the  prophet  praying  that  Israel  might  be  redeemed  from 
the  taxes  the  Romans  had  imposed  upon  them  ?  Being  with- 
out precise  knowledge  of  how  much  remission  Jeremiah  might 
obtain  for  them,  it  seemed  to  them  that  it  would  be  well 
to  say  that  Jeremiah  was  praying  to  God  to  delay  no  longer, 
but  send  the  Messiah  he  had  promised.  At  which  Jesus 
smiled  and  asked  them  if  the  Messiah  would  remit  the 
taxes ;  and  the  disciples  answered  craftily  that  the  Messiah 
would  set  up  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth :  in  which 
kingdom  no  taxes  are  levied,  Jesus  replied.  Come,  he  said, 
let  us  sit  upon  these  rocks  and  talk  of  the  great  prophecies, 
for  I  would  hear  from  you  how  you  think  the  promised  king- 
dom will  come  to  pass.  And  the  disciples  answered,  one  here, 
one  there,  and  then  in  twos  and  threes.  But,  Master,  thou 
knowest  all  these  things,  since  it  is  to  thee  our  Father  has 
given  the  task  of  establishing  his  Kingdom  upon  earth ;  tell 
us,  plague  us  no  longer  with  dark  questions.  We  are  not 
alone,  Thaddeus  cried,  a  rich  man's  son  is  amongst  us.  If 
he  have  come  amongst  us  God  has  sent  him,  Jesus  said,  and 
we  should  have  no  fear  of  riches,  since  we  desire  them  not. 
This  kindness  heartened  Joseph,  who  dared  to  ask  Jesus 
how  he  might  disburden  himself  of  the  wealth  that  would 
come  to  him  at  his  father's  death. 

As  no  such  dilemma  as  Joseph's  had  arisen  before,  all 
waited  to  hear  Jesus,  but  his  thoughts  having  seemingly 
wandered  far,  they  all  fell  to  argument  and  advised  Joseph 
in  so  many  different  ways  that  he  did  not  know  to  whom 
to  accede,  so  contradictory  were  all  their  notions  of  fairness ; 
and,  the  babble  becoming  louder,  it  waked  Jesus  out  of  his 
mood,  and  catching  Joseph's  eyes,  he  asked  him  if  he  whom 
our  Father  sent  to  establish  his  Kingdom  on  earth  would 
not  have  to  give  his  life  to  men  for  doing  it.  A  question 
that  Joseph  could  not  answer;    and  while  he  sought  for  the 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  151 

Master's  meaning  the  disciples  began  again  aloud  to  babble 
and  to  put  questions  to  the  Master,  hurriedly  asking  him  why 
he  thought  he  must  die  before  going  up  to  Heaven.  Did 
not  Elijah,  they  asked,  ascend  into  Heaven  alive  in  his 
corporeal  body  ?  —  and  the  cloak  he  left  with  Elisha,  Aris- 
tion  said,  might  be  held  to  be  a  symbol  of  the  fleshly  body. 
This  view  was  scorned,  for  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures  could 
not  be  that  the  disciples  inherited  not  the  spiritual  power  of 
the  prophet,  but  his  fleshly  show.  Then  the  fate  of  Judas 
the  Gaulonite  rising  up  in  Peter's  mind,  he  said  :  but.  Master, 
we  shall  not  allow  thee  to  be  slain  on  a  cross  and  given  as 
food  to  the  birds.  The  disciples  raised  their  staves,  crying, 
we're  with  thee,  Master,  and  the  forest  gave  back  their  oaths 
in  echoes  that  seemed  to  reach  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  and 
when  the  echoes  ceased  a  silence  came  up  from  the  forest 
that  shut  their  lips,  and,  panic-stricken,  all  would  have  run 
away  if  Peter  had  not  drawn  the  sword  which  he  had  brought 
with  him  in  case  of  an  attack  by  wolves,  and  swore  he  would 
strike  the  man  down  that  raised  his  hand  against  the  Master. 
To  which  Jesus  replied  that  every  man  is  born  to  pursue  a  des- 
tiny, and  that  he  had  long  known  that  his  led  to  Jerusalem, 
whereupon  Peter  cried  out:  we'll  defend  thee  from  thyself; 
for  which  words  Jesus  reproved  him,  saying  that  to  try  to 
save  a  man  from  himself  were  like  trying  to  save  him  from 
the  decree  that  he  brings  into  the  world  with  his  blood.  And 
what  is  mine,  Master  ?  It  may  be,  Jesus  answered,  to  re- 
turn to  thy  fishing.  Whereupon  Peter  wept,  saying  :  Master, 
if  we  lose  thee  we're  as  sheep  that  have  lost  their  shepherd, 
a  huddled,  senseless  flock  on  the  hillside,  for  we  have  laid 
down  our  nets  to  follow  thee,  believing  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  would  come  down  here  in  Galilee  rather  than  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  pray  that  it  may  descend  here,  for  thou'lt  be  safer 
here.  Master;  we  have  swords  and  staves  to  defend  thee  — 
so  let  us  kneel  in  prayer  and  ask  the  Lord  that  he  choose 
Galilee  rather  than  Judea  for  the  setting  up  of  his  kingdom. 


152  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

To  which  Jesus  answered  nothing,  and  his  face  was  as  if  he 
had  not  heard  Peter;  and  then  Peter's  fears  for  Jesus'  Hfe, 
should  he  go  to  Jerusalem,  seemed  to  pass  on  from  one  to 
the  other,  till  all  were  possessed  by  the  same  fear,  and  Peter 
said :  let  us  lift  up  our  hearts  to  our  Father  in  Heaven  and 
pray  that  Jesus  be  not  taken  from  us.  Let  us  kneel,  he  said, 
and  they  all  knelt  and  prayed,  but  to  their  supplication 
Jesus  seemed  indifferent.  And  seeing  they  were  unable  to 
dissuade  him  from  Jerusalem,  Peter  turned  to  Joseph.  Here 
is  one,  he  said,  who  knows  the  perils  of  Jerusalem  and  will 
bear  witness,  that  if  thou  preach  that  God  have  no  need  of 
a  Temple  or  a  sacrifice,  thou'll  surely  be  done  to  death  by 
the  priests. 

Peter's  sudden  appeal  to  his  knowledge  of  the  priests  of 
Jerusalem  awoke  Joseph,  who  was  wholly  absorbed  in  his 
love  of  Jesus,  and  thought  only  of  rushing  forward  and  wor- 
shipping; but  he  was  held  back  and  strained  forward  at 
the  same  time,  and  seeing  he  was  overcome,  Peter  did  not 
press  him  for  an  answer,  and  Joseph  fell  back  among  the 
crowd,  ashamed,  thinking  that  if  Peter  came  to  him  again 
he  would  speak  forthright.  He  had  words  that  would  bring 
him  into  the  sympathy  of  Jesus,  but  instead  of  speaking 
them  he  stood,  held  at  gaze  by  the  beauty  of  the  bright  fore- 
head, large  and  arched ;  and  so  exalted  were  the  eyes  that 
Joseph  could  not  think  else  than  that  Jesus  was  looking  upon 
things  that  his  disciples  did  not  see.  It  seemed  to  Joseph 
that  Jesus  was  meditating  whether  he  should  confide  all  he 
saw  and  heard  to  his  disciples.  He  waited,  tremulous  with 
expectation,  watching  the  thin  scrannel  throat  out  of  which 
rose  a  voice  to  which  the  ear  became  attuned  quickly  and 
was  gratified  as  by  a  welcome  dissonance.  It  rose  up  among 
the  silence  of  the  pines,  and  the  delight  of  listening  to  it, 
Joseph  thought,  was  so  near  to  intoxication  that  he  would 
have  pressed  forward  if  he  had  not  remembered  suddenly 
that  he  was  a  new-comer  into  the  community;     one  who 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  153 

might  at  any  moment  be  driven  out  of  it  because  he  possessed 
riches  which  he  could  not  unburden  himself  of.  So  he  kept 
his  seat  in  the  background  among  the  casual  followers,  by 
two  men  whose  accents  told  him  they  were  Samaritans, 
and  these  now  seemed  within  the  last  few  minutes  to  have 
become  opposed  to  Jesus,  and  Joseph  wondered  at  the  change 
that  had  come  over  them  and  lent  an  ear  to  their  discourse 
so  that  he  might  discover  a  reason  for  it.  And  it  was  not 
long  before  he  discovered  that  their  objection  related  to  the 
book  of  Daniel,  for  they  were  of  the  sort  that  receive  no 
Scriptures  after  the  five  Books  of  the  Law. 

Joseph  knew  the  book  less  perhaps  than  any  other  book 
of  the  Scriptures ;  he  had  looked  into  it  with  Azariah,  but 
for  a  reason  which  he  could  not  now  discover  he  had  read  it 
with  little  attention ;  and  since  his  schooldays  he  had  not 
looked  into  it  again.  Peter  and  Andrew  and  John  and  James 
were  listening  intently  to  the  story  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream  for  the  sake  of  the  story  related  and  without  thought 
of  what  might  be  Jesus'  purpose  in  relating  it.  But  to  Joseph 
Jesus'  purpose  was  the  chief  interest  of  the  relation ;  and  the 
purpose  became  apparent  when  he  began  to  tell  how  the 
great  statue  seen  by  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his  dream,  whose 
head  was  gold,  whose  arms  and  breast  were  silver,  whose 
belly  was  brass,  and  whose  legs  and  feet  were  iron  and  clay 
intermingled,  was  overthrown  by  a  stone  that  hand  had  not 
cut  out  of  the  mountain.  This  stone  became  forthwith  as 
big  as  a  mountain  and  filled  the  whole  earth,  and  Joseph  fell 
to  thinking  if  this  stone  were  the  fifth  kingdom  which  the 
Messiah  would  set  up  when  the  Roman  kingdom  had  fallen 
to  dust,  or  whether  the  stone  were  the  Messiah  himself. 
And  while  Joseph  sat  thinking  he  heard  suddenly  that  when 
Nebuchadnezzar  looked  into  the  furnace  and  saw  the  three 
men  whom  he  had  ordered  to  be  thrown  into  it  walking 
through  the  flames  safely,  he  said  :  and  there  is  a  fourth, 
and  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  son  of  God. 


154  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

The  story  wholly  delighted  the  disciples;  and  they  asked 
Jesus  to  tell  them  the  further  adventures  of  Daniel,  and 
as  if  wishing  to  humour  them  he  began  to  relate  that  a  hand 
had  appeared  writing  on  the  wall  during  the  great  feast  at 
Babylon,  a  story  to  which  Joseph  could  give  but  little  heed, 
for  his  imagination  was  controlled  by  the  words,  "whose 
form  is  like  the  son  of  God"  —  an  inspiration  on  the  part 
of  the  Babylonian  king.  If  ever  a  man  had  seemed  since  to 
another  like  the  son  of  God,  Jesus  was  that  man  ;  and  Joseph 
asked  himself  how  it  was  that  these  words  had  passed  over 
the  ears  of  the  disciples  —  over  the  ears  of  those  who  knew 
Jesus'  mind,  if  any  could  be  said  to  know  Jesus'  mind.  Jesus, 
though  he  lived  near  them  and  loved  them,  lived  in  the  world 
of  his  own  thoughts,  which,  so  it  seemed  to  Joseph,  he  could 
not  share  with  anybody.  Not  one  of  the  men  he  had  gath- 
ered about  him,  neither  Peter,  nor  John,  nor  James,  had  no- 
ticed the  notable  words  :  "And  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like 
the  son  of  God."  It  was  for  these  words,  Joseph  felt  sure, 
that  Jesus  had  related  the  story  of  Daniel  in  the  furnace. 
But  his  disciples  had  not  apprehended  the  significance ;  and 
like  one  whose  confidence  was  unmoved  by  the  slowness 
or  the  quickness  of  his  listeners,  almost  as  if  he  knew  that 
the  real  drift  of  his  speech  was  beyond  his  hearers,  Jesus 
began  to  tell  that  Darius'  counsellors  had  combined  in  a 
plot  against  Daniel  and  succeeded  in  it  so  well  that  Daniel 
was  cast  into  a  den  of  lions.  But  there  being  nothing  in 
the  story  that  pointed  to  the  setting  up  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  upon  earth,  Joseph  was  puzzled  to  understand 
why  Jesus  was  at  pains  to  relate  it  at  such  length.  Was 
it  to  amuse  his  disciples  ?  he  asked  himself,  but  no  sooner 
had  he  put  the  question  to  himself  than  the  purpose  of 
the  relation  passed  into  his  mind.  Jesus  had  told  the  mar- 
vellous stories  of  Daniel's  escapes  from  death  so  that  his  dis- 
ciples might  have  no  fear  that  the  priests  of  Jerusalem  would 
have  power  to  destroy  him  :  whomsoever  God  sends  into  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  155 

world  to  do  his  work,  Jesus  would  have  us  understand  are 
under  God's  protection  for  ever  and  ever;  and  Joseph  re- 
joiced greatly  at  having  discovered  Jesus'  intent,  and  for  a 
long  time  the  glen,  the  silent  forest  and  the  men  sitting  lis- 
tening to  the  Master  were  all  forgotten  by  him.  He  even 
forgot  the  Master's  presence,  so  filled  was  he  by  the  abundant 
hope  that  his  divination  of  the  Master's  intent  marked  him  out 
as  one  to  be  associated  with  the  Master's  work  —  more  than 
anyone  of  those  now  listening  to  him,  more  than  Peter  himself. 
And  so  sweet  was  his  reverie  to  him  that  he  regretted  the 
passing  of  it  as  a  misfortune,  but  finding  he  was  in  spirit 
as  well  as  in  body  among  realities,  he  lent  his  ear  to  the  story 
of  the  four  winds  that  had  striven  upon  the  great  sea  and 
driven  up  four  great  beasts.  These  beasts  Joseph  readily 
understood  to  be  but  another  figuration  of  the  four  great  em- 
pires ;  the  Babylonian,  the  Persian,  and  the  Grecian  had  been 
blown  away  like  dust,  and  as  soon  as  the  fourth,  the  Roman 
Empire,  was  broken  into  pieces  the  kingdom  of  the  whole 
world  would  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High.  It  was  Philip  the  nearly  hunchback  that 
asked  Jesus  for  an  explanation  of  this  vision  —  saying,  and 
obtaining  the  approval  of  several  for  the  question,  would  he, 
Jesus,  acquiesce  in  this  sharing  of  the  earth  among  the  angels 
who  had  not  seen  him,  nor  heard  him,  nor  served  him  upon 
earth.  If  the  earth  is  to  be  shared  among  the  angels  we  fol- 
low thee  in  vain,  he  muttered  ;  and  Joseph  felt  that  he  could 
never  speak  freely  again  with  Philip  for  having  dared  to  in- 
terrupt the  master  and  weary  him  with  questions  that  a  child 
could  answer.  To  whom  Philip  said  :  but  you,  young  master, 
that  have  received  good  instruction  in  Hebrew  and  Greek 
from  the  Scribe  Azariah,  and  have  travelled  far,  do  you 
answer  my  question.     If  the  earth  is  to  be  shared  among 

angels He   was   not   allowed   to   repeat   more   of  his 

question,   for  a  clamour  of  explanation   began   among  the 
disciples  that  the  earth  would  not  be  shared   among  the 


156  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

angels  of  God  —  God  would  find  his  people  repentant  when 
he  arrived  with  his  son.  At  last  the  assembly  settled  them- 
selves to  listen  to  the  story  of  the  vision  in  which  a  ram 
pushed  westward  and  northward  and  southward,  till  a  he- 
goat  came  from  the  west  —  one  with  a  notable  horn  between 
the  eyes,  and  butted  the  ram  till  he  had  broken  his  two 
horns.  Joseph  had  forgotten  these  visions,  and  he  learnt 
for  the  first  time,  so  it  seemed  to  him,  that  the  goat  meant 
the  Syrian  king,  Antiochus,  who  had  conquered  Jerusalem, 
polluted  the  sanctuary  and  set  up  heathen  gods.  But  how 
are  all  these  visions  concerned  with  the  setting  up  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  earth  .?  and  Jesus'  purpose  did  not  ap- 
pear to  him  till  Daniel  heard  a  voice  between  the  banks  of 
the  Ula  crying  :  make  this  man  understand.  Joseph  under- 
stood forthwith  that  Jesus'  purpose  was  still  the  same,  to 
make  it  plain  to  the  disciples  that  Daniel  was  protected  and 
guided  by  God,  and,  that  being  so,  Jesus  could  go  to  Jeru- 
salem fearing  nothing,  he  being  greater  than  Daniel.  So 
he  sat  immersed  in  belief,  hearing  but  faintly  the  many  mar- 
vellous things  that  Daniel  heard  and  saw,  nor  did  he  awake 
from  his  reverie  till  Jesus  announced  that  Gabriel  flew  about 
Daniel  at  the  hour  of  the  evening  oblation,  telling  him  that 
seventy  weeks  was  the  measure  of  time  allowed  by  God  to 
make  reconciliation  for  iniquity  and  bring  everlasting  right- 
eousness, and  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  Messiah ;  and  that 
after  three  score  and  two  weeks  the  Messiah  should  be  cut 
off  but  not  for  himself. 

The  words  "cut  off  but  not  for  himself"  troubled  Joseph, 
and  he  pondered  them,  while  the  disciples  marvelled  at  hear- 
ing Jesus  speak  of  these  things  (he  seemed  to  know  the  Scrip- 
tures by  rote),  and  his  voice  went  upward  into  the  silence  of 
the  firs,  and  they  heard  as  if  in  a  dream  that  the  King  of  the 
south  should  come  into  his  kingdom  and  return  to  his  own 
land.  But  his  sons  shall  be  stirred  up  and  shall  revolt  against 
him,  Jesus  said,  and  the  disciples  marvelled  greatly,  for  Jesus 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  157 

made  clear  the  meaning  that  lay  under  these  dark  sayings, 
and  they  heard  and  understood  how  the  robbers  of  the  people 
should  exalt  themselves  and  establish  a  vision ;  but  these 
shall  fall  and  the  king  of  the  north  shall  come  and  cast  up 
mounds  and  take  the  fortified  cities.  And  they  heard  of 
destructions  and  leagues  and  armies  and  sanctuaries  that 
were  polluted,  and  of  peoples  who  did  not  know  their  God, 
but  who  nevertheless  became  strong;  and  they  heard  of 
Edom  and  Moab  and  the  children  of  Ammon,  but  at  the  end 
of  all  these  troubles  the  Tabernacle  was  placed  between  the 
seas  of  the  glorious  holy  mountain.  And  that  day  the 
fishers  from  the  lake  of  Galilee  and  others  heard  that  Michael 
had  told  the  people  of  Israel  that  those  that  were  dead  should 
rise  out  of  the  earth  and  come  into  everlasting  life.  But 
can  the  dead  be  raised  up  and  come  to  life  in  their  corruptible 
bodies  ?  asked  the  Samaritans  that  sat  by  Joseph,  and  their 
mutterings  grew  louder,  and  they  denied  that  the  prophet 
Daniel  had  spoken  truth  in  this  and  many  other  things,  and 
as  he  had  not  spoken  truth  he  was  a  false  prophet ;  whereupon 
so  great  a  clamour  arose  that  the  wild  beasts  in  the  ravine 
began  to  growl,  being  awaked  in  their  lairs.  And  the  dis- 
ciples, foreseeing  that  it  would  soon  be  dark  night  in  the 
forest,  fell  to  seeking  the  way  back  to  Capernaum,  the  Gali- 
leans in  one  group  with  Jesus  among  them,  the  Samaritans 
speeding  away  together  and  stopping  at  times  for  fresh  discus- 
sion with  the  Galileans,  asking  among  many  other  things  how 
the  corruptible  body  might  be  raised  up  to  heaven  and  live  in- 
dulging in  the  many  imperfections  inherent  in  our  bodies.  It 
was  vain  to  ask  them  what  justice  there  would  be  if  the  men 
that  had  died  before  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God  were 
not  raised  up  into  heaven.  If  this  were  true  the  dead  had 
led  virtuous  lives  in  vain ;  they  might  for  all  it  had  profited 
them  have  lived  like  the  heathen. 

It  was  at  Capernaum  that  the  truth  became  manifest  that 
not  only  was  Daniel  denied,  but  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel, 


158  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

all  the  prophets  since  Moses,  at  which  the  disciples  were 
greatly  incensed  and  raised  their  staves  against  the  Samari- 
tans, but  Jesus  dissuaded  his  followers,  and  the  dissidents 
were  suffered  to  depart  unhurt.  Let  them  go,  Jesus  said, 
for  they  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  like  ourselves,  and  he  bade 
them  all  good-night,  and  there  seemed  to  Joseph  to  be  a  great 
sadness  in  Jesus'  voice,  as  if  he  felt  that  in  this  world  there 
was  little  else  but  leave-taking. 

Joseph  too  resented  this  parting,  though  it  was  for  but 
a  few  hours ;  he  would  unite  himself  to  Jesus,  become  one, 
as  the  mother  and  the  unborn  babe  are  one  —  he  would  be 
of  the  same  mind  and  flesh  ;  all  division  seemed  to  him  loss, 
till,  frightened  at  his  own  great  love  of  Jesus,  he  stopped  in 
the  Plain  of  Gennesaret,  star-gazing.  But  the  stars  told 
him  nothing,  and  he  walked  on  again.  Nor  was  it  till 
about  a  half-hour's  walk  from  Magdala  that  he  overtook 
the  Samaritans,  and  these  sought  to  draw  him  into  argu- 
ment. But  he  was  in  no  humour  for  further  discussion, 
and  dismissed  them,  saying :  what  matter  if  all  the  prophets 
were  false  since  the  promised  Messiah  is  among  us.  He 
has  come,  he  has  come !  he  repeated  all  the  way  home : 
and  at  every  flight  of  the  high  stairs  he  tried  to  collect  his 
thoughts.  But  his  brain  was  whirling,  and  he  could  only 
repeat :  he  has  come,  he  has  come ! 


CHAPTER   XIV 

IT  seemed  to  Joseph  as  he  hurried  along  the  Plain  of  Gen- 
nesaret  that  the  sun  shone  gayer  than  his  wont,  but  as  he  ap- 
proached Capernaum  he  began  to  think  that  the  sun  had 
risen  a  Httle  earher  than  his  wont.  Nobody  was  about ! 
He  Hstened  in  vain  for  some  sound  of  life,  till  at  last  his  ear 
caught  a  sound  as  of  somebody  moving  along  the  wharves, 
and,  going  thither,  he  came  upon  Peter  storing  his  oars  in  the 
boathouse.  Making  ready,  Joseph  said,  for  fishing  ?  You 
don't  see,  Master,  that  I'm  putting  my  oars  away,  but  I'd  as 
lief  take  them  out  again  and  fish  till  evening.  Here  was  a 
mysterious  answer  from  the  least  mysterious  of  men,  and  Peter 
continued  in  his  work,  throwing  the  oars  into  a  corner  like 
one  that  cared  little  if  he  broke  them,  and  kicking  his  nets 
aside  as  if  he  were  never  going  to  let  them  down  again  into 
the  lake :  altogether  his  mood  was  of  an  exasperation  such 
as  Joseph  had  never  suspected  to  be  possible  in  this  good- 
humoured,  simple  fellow.  Had  he  been  obliged  to  leave  the 
community  or  sell  his  boats  ?  If  that  were  so,  his  chance 
(Joseph's  chance)  of  entering  the  community  was  a  poor  one 
indeed ;  and  he  begged  Peter  to  relate  his  trouble  to  him  — 
for  trouble  there  had  been  last  night,  he  was  sure  of  it. 

Trouble  there  always  is  in  this  world,  Peter  answered, 
so  long  as  I've  known  it,  and  will  be  till  God  sets  up  his 
kingdom.  The  sooner  he  does  it  the  better,  so  says  I.  But 
I  don't  know  about  the  saints  we  heard  of  yesterday,  what 
they  have  to  do  with  it.  The  Master's  mood  is  stranger 
than  I  ever  can  recollect  it,  he  said,  standing  up  straight  and 
looking    Joseph   in   the   eyes.     It   was   thyself  that   said   it 

159 


i6o  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

yesterday,  Peter,  Joseph  rejoined.  I'm  thinking  it  may 
have  been  the  Samaritans  that  vexed  him.  Peter  lifted  his 
heavy  shoulders  and  muttered  :  the  Samaritans,  we  give  no 
heed  to  them  :  and  he  began  to  speak,  at  first  with  diffidence ; 
Joseph  had  to  woo  him  into  speaking,  which  he  did  ;  but  after 
the  first  few  minutes  Peter  was  glib  enough,  telling  Joseph 
that  last  night  there  had  been  stirs  and  quarrels  among  the 
disciples  regarding  his  boats,  and  John's  and  James's  boats 
too,  he  said,  and  by  the  jealous  and  envious,  he  muttered, 
who  would  like  to  come  between  us  and  the  Master.  Joseph 
asked  who  had  raised  the  vexatious  question,  but  Peter 
avoided  it,  and  went  about  the  wharf  grunting  that  none 
could  answer  it :  was  it  to  Matthew,  the  publican,  he  was  to 
give  his  boats  .?  one,  he  said,  who  never  was  on  the  water  in 
his  life  till  I  took  him  out  for  a  sail  a  week  come  Tuesday. 
A  fine  use  they'd  be  to  him  but  to  drown  himself.  A  pufF 
of  wind,  and  not  knowing  how  to  take  in  a  reef,  the  boat 
would  be  over  in  a  jiffy  and  the  nets  lost.  Now  who  would 
be  the  better  for  the  loss  of  my  nets  ?  answer  me  that.  And 
I'd  like  to  be  told  when  my  boats  and  nets  were  at  the  bottom 
of  the  lake  to  whom  would  the  Son  of  Man  turn  for  a  corner 
in  which  to  lay  his  head,  or  for  a  bite  or  a  sup  of  wine.  John 
and  James  would  give  their  boats  to  Judas  belike,  and  he'd 
bring  home  about  as  much  fish  as  would but  I'm  think- 
ing of  your  father.  What  will  he  be  saying  to  all  this,  and 
his  business  dwindling  all  the  while,  and  we  beggars  ?  —  the 
words  with  which  my  wife  roused  me  this  morning.  Of  course, 
says  she,  if  the  stone  that  never  was  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
with  hands  is  going  to  be  slung  and  send  the  Romans  toppling, 
I've  naught  to  say  against  sharing,  but  the  Kingdom  had 
better  come  quickly,  Simon  Peter,  if  thou'lt  fish  no  more ; 
and  the  woman  is  right,  says  I,  though  I  hold  with  every 
word  that  falls  from  the  Master's  lips,  only  this  way  it  is,  he 
looks  to  my  fishing  for  his  support,  and  Miriam  is  quick  to 
remind  me  of  that.     A  good  woman,  one  that  has  been  always 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  i6i 

yielding  to  my  will  and  never  had  a  word  against  our  lodger, 
but  sets  the  best  before  him  out  of  thankfulness  for  his 
saving  of  her  mother's  life,  though  one  more  mouth  in  a  house 
is  always  a  drain,  if  the  Master  is  as  easily  fed  as  a  sparrow. 
But  restive  she  is  now  about  the  delay  :  as  I  was  saying  just 
now  she  wakes  me  up  with  a  loud  question  in  my  ear :  now, 
Simon  Peter,  answer  me,  art  thou  going  into  Syria  to  bid  the 
blind  to  see,  the  lame  to  walk,  and  the  palsied  to  shake  no 
more,  or  art  thou  going  to  thy  trade  ?  for  in  this  house  there 
be  four  little  children,  myself,  their  mother,  and  thy  mother- 
in-law.  I  say  nothing  against  the  journey  if  it  bring  thee 
good  money,  or  if  it  bring  the  Kingdom,  but  if  it  bring  naught 
but  miracles  there'll  be  little  enough  in  the  house  to  eat  by 
the  time  ye  come  back.  And,  says  she,  the  feeding  of  his 
children  is  a  nobler  work  for  a  married  man  (she  speaks  like 
that  sometimes)  than  bidding  those  to  see  who  would  belike 
be  better  without  their  eyes  than  with  them.  You  wouldn't 
think  it,  but  'tis  as  I  say :  she  talks  up  to  me  like  that,  and 
ofttimes  I've  to  go  to  the  Master  and  ask  him  to  quiet  her, 
which  he  rarely  fails  to  do,  for  she  loves  him  for  what  he  has 
done  for  her  mother,  and  is  willing  to  wait.  But  last  night 
when  the  busybodies  brought  her  news  that  the  Master  had 
been  preaching  in  the  forest,  of  the  sharing  of  the  world  out 
among  the  holy  saints,  she  gave  way  to  her  temper  and  was 
violent,  saying,  by  what  right  are  the  saints  of  the  most  high 
coming  here  to  ask  for  a  share  of  this  world,  as  if  they  hadn't 
a  heaven  to  live  in.  You  see,  good  Master,  there's  right 
on  her  side,  that's  what  makes  it  so  hard  to  answer  her,  and 
I'm  with  her  in  this,  for  by  what  right  do  the  holy  saints 
down  here  ask  for  a  share  in  the  world,  that's  what  keeps 
drumming  in  my  head ;  and,  as  I  told  you  a  while  ago,  I'd 
as  lief  put  out  upon  the  lake  and  fish  as  go  to  Syria  for 

nothing,  say  the  word  And  leave  the  Master  to  go 

alone  ?    Joseph  interposed.      Well,  I   suppose  we  can't  do 
that,  Peter  answered,  and  then  it  seemed  to  Joseph  wiser 


1 62  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

not  to  talk  any  more,  but  to  allow  things  to  fashion  their 
own  course,  which  they  did  very  amiably,  in  about  an  hour's 
time,  the  little  band  going  forth,  Joseph  walking  by  Peter's 
side,  hoping  that  he  would  not  have  to  wait  long  before  seeing 
a  miracle. 

Their  first  stop  was  at  Chorazin,  about  five  miles  distant, 
and  the  sick  began  to  rise  quickly  from  their  beds,  and  Jesus 
had  only  to  impose  his  hands  for  the  palsied  to  cease  quiver- 
ing. The  laws  of  nature  seemed  suspended  and  Joseph  for- 
got his  father  at  Magdala  and  likewise  Pilate's  business  which 
had  brought  him  to  Galilee.  It  will  have  to  wait,  he  said, 
talking  with  himself,  and  now  certain  that  he  had  come  upon 
him  whom  he  had  always  been  seeking ;  it  was  as  lost  time 
to  look  at  anything  but  Jesus,  or  to  hear  any  words  but  his, 
or  to  admire  aught  but  the  manifestations  of  his  power;  and 
every  time  a  sick  man  rose  from  his  bed  Joseph  thanked  God 
for  having  allowed  him  to  live  in  the  days  of  the  Messiah. 
He  saw  sight  restored  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the  deaf,  swift- 
ness of  foot  to  cripples,  issues  of  blood  that  had  endured  ten 
years  staunched ;  the  cleansing  of  the  leper  had  become 
too  common  a  miracle ;  he  looked  forward  to  seeing 
demons  taking  flight  from  the  bodies  of  men  and  women, 
and  accepted  Peter's  telling  that  the  day  could  not  be 
delayed  much  longer  when  he  would  see  some  dead  man 
rise  up  in  his  cere-clothes  from  the  tomb ;  and  having  a 
mind  only  for  the  miraculous,  one  of  the  vexations  of  his 
spirit  was  that  Jesus  forbade  his  disciples  (among  whom 
Joseph  now  counted  himself)  to  tell  anybody  that  he  was 
the  Messiah. 

In  every  town  they  were  welcomed  by  the  Gentiles  as 
well  as  by  the  Jews,  which  was  surprising,  and  set  Joseph's 
wits  to  work ;  and  these  being  well  trained,  he  soon  began  to 
apprehend  that  the  Jews  accepted  the  miracles  as  testimony 
that  Jesus  was  really  the  Messiah  and  that  his  teaching  was 
true;     whereas  the  Gentile  admired  the  miracles  for  their 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  163 

own  sake,  failing,  however,  and  completely,  to  see  that 
because  he  cured  the  blind,  the  palsied,  the  scrofulous  and  the 
halt,  they  should  no  longer  visit  their  temples  and  sacred 
groves,  and  admire  no  more  Pan's  huge  sexuality  and  hang 
garlands  upon  it,  nor  carve  images  of  Diana  and  Apollo. 
Such  abstinence  they  could  not  comprehend,  and  deemed  it 
enough  that  they  were  ready  to  proclaim  him  a  god  on  the 
occasion  of  every  great  miracle,  a  readiness  that  gave  great 
scandal  and  caused  many  Jews  to  turn  away  from  Jesus. 
It  was  not  enough  that  he  should  repudiate  this  godhead ; 
and  the  hardness  of  heart  and  narrowness  of  soul  that  he 
encountered  among  his  own  people  afflicted  Jesus  as  much 
as  did  the  incontinency  of  the  Gentiles,  whom  he  some- 
times met,  bearing  images  in  procession,  going  towards  some 
shrine  —  the  very  same  who  had  listened  to  his  teaching 
ye^ter  evening.  Joseph  once  dared  throw  himself  in  front 
of  one  of  these  processions,  and  he  begged  the  processionists 
to  Pan  to  throw  aside  the  garlands  and  wreaths  they  had 
woven.  This  they  would  not  do,  but  out  of  respect  to  the 
distinguished  strangers  that  had  come  to  their  town  they 
listened  for  some  minutes  to  his  relation  that  on  the  last 
day  the  dead  would  be  roused  by  the  trumpets  of  angels  to 
attend  the  judgment  and  that  the  man  Jesus  before  them  — 
the  Messiah  announced  hundreds  of  years  ago  in  many  a 
prophetic  book  —  would  return  to  earth  in  a  chariot  of  fire 
by  his  Father's  side,  the  Judgment  Book  in  his  hands.  May 
we  now  proceed  on  our  way,  they  asked,  but  Joseph  besought 
them  to  listen  to  him  for  another  few  minutes,  and  thinking 
he  had  perhaps  explained  the  resurrection  badly,  and  forth- 
with calling  to  mind  the  philosophy  of  Egypt  and  Mathias, 
he  asked  them  to  apprehend  that  it  would  not  be  the  corrup- 
tible body  that  would  rise  from  the  dead  but  the  spiritual 
body,  whereby  he  only  succeeded  in  perplexing  still  further 
the  minds  of  the  worthy  pagans  of  Caesarea  Philippi,  and 
provoking  stirs  and  quarrels  among  his  own  people. 


i64  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

And  the  processionists  taking  advantage  of  this  diversion 
of  opinion  among  the  Jews  passed  on  and  disposed  of  their 
wreaths  and  votive  offerings  as  it  pleased  them  to  do.  All 
the  same  on  their  way  back  they  begged  Jesus  to  perform 
some  more  miracles,  which  he  refused  to  do,  and  to  their 
great  amazement  he  left  them  for  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians. 
But  the  same  difficulties  occurred  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  the 
Gentiles  accepting  the  miracles  with  delight  but  paying 
little  heed  to  the  doctrine.  They  begged  him  to  remain 
with  them  and  offered  gifts  for  his  services  as  healer,  but  he 
refused  these  and  returned  to  Galilee,  having  performed 
miracles  of  all  sorts,  without,  however,  having  bidden  a. 
dead  man  rise  from  the  grave,  to  the  great  disappointment 
of  Joseph,  who  would  have  liked  to  witness  this  miracle 
(the  greatest  of  all) ;  seemingly  it  was  not  his  lot  to  do  so. 
But  Peter  bade  him  hope !  —  the  great  miracle  might  happen 
in  Galilee,  and  as  such  a  miracle  would  evince  the  truth  of 
Jesus'  Messiahship  even  to  his  father,  Joseph  remained  in 
Capernaum,  going  out  in  the  boats  with  Jesus  and  his  dis- 
ciples, sailing  along  the  shores  till  the  people  gathered  in 
numbers  sufficient  for  an  exhortation.  As  there  were  always 
many  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  among  the  crowds  assembled 
to  hear  the  Master,  he  did  not  land,  but  preached  standing 
up  in  the  bow,  Peter  vigilant  with  an  oar,  for  priests  are 
everywhere  enemies  of  reformation  and  instigate  attacks 
upon  reformers,  and  those  made  on  Jesus  were  often  so 
violent  that  Peter  had  to  strike  out  to  the  right  and  left, 
but  he  always  managed  to  get  free,  and  they  sailed  for  less 
hostile  coasts  or  back  to  the  wharf  at  Capernaum. 

It  once  occurred  to  them  to  try  their  luck  with  the 
Gadarenes,  and  it  was  in  returning  from  their  coasts  one 
evening  that  Peter's  boat  was  caught  in  a  great  storm  and 
that  Joseph  was  met  by  one  of  his  father's  servants  as  he 
jumped  ashore.  The  man  had  come  to  tell  him  that  if  he 
wished  to  see  his  father  alive  he  must  hasten  to  Magdala, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  165 

and  Joseph  glared  at  him  dumfounded,  for  he  had  sus- 
pected all  along  that  he  had  little  or  no  right  at  all  to  leave 
his  father  for  Jesus.  I  did  not  know  I  was  like  this,  he  blurted 
out  to  himself.  And  as  much  to  silence  his  accusing  con- 
science as  anything  else  he  questioned  the  stupid  messenger, 
asking  him  if  his  father  had  seen  a  physician,  and  if  the 
physician  had  held  out  any  hopes  of  a  recovery.  But  the 
thin  and  halting  account  which  was  all  the  messenger  could 
give  only  increased  Joseph's  alarm,  and  it  was  with  much 
difficulty  that  he  learnt  from  him  that  the  master  had  brought 
some  walnuts  to  the  parrots,  and  just  after  giving  a  nut  to  the 
green  parrot  had  cried  out  to  Tobias  that  a  great  pain  had 
come  into  his  head.  Joseph  dug  his  heels  into  his  ass's  side 
and  cried  to  the  messenger :  and  then  ?  The  messenger 
answered  that  the  pain  in  the  back  of  his  father's  head  had 
become  so  great  that  he  began  to  reel  about,  overthrow- 
ing one  of  the  parrots  on  its  perch.     The  parrot  flew  at 

master,   thinking  he  had   done  it  Never  mind   the 

parrot,  Joseph  replied  angrily,  confusing  the  messenger, 
who  told  him  that  the  master  had  entered  the  house  on 
Tobias'  arm,  and  sat  down  to  supper  but  ate  nothing  to 
speak  of.  None  of  us  dared  to  go  to  bed  that  night,  the 
messenger  continued.  We  sat  up,  expecting  every  moment 
somebody  to  come  down  from  the  room  overhead  to  tell 
us  that  the  master  was  dead.  The  next  part  of  the  messen- 
ger's story  was  like  a  tangled  skein,  and  Joseph  half  heard 
and  half  understood  that  the  great  physician  that  came  from 
Tiberias  said  that  he  must  awaken  the  master  out  of  the 
swoon  and  at  any  cost.  And  kept  bawling  at  him,  the 
messenger  said.  Bawling  at  him,  Joseph  repeated  after  the 
messenger,  and  the  messenger  repeated  the  words,  bawling 
at  him,  saying  that  the  physician  had  said  that  the  mas- 
ter's swoon  was  like  a  wall  and  that  he  must  get  him  to 
hear  him  somehow.  He  said  the  effort  would  cost  your 
father,  sir,  a  great  deal,  but  he  must  get  him  to  hear  him. 


i66  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

The  story  as  the  servant  related  it  seemed  incredible,  but  he 
reflected  that  servants'  stories  are  always  incredible,  and 
Joseph  learned  with  increasing  wonder  that  Dan  had  heard 
the  physician  and  sat  up  in  bed  and  spoken  reasonably, 
but  had  fallen  back  again  unconscious,  and  that  the  physician 
on  leaving  him  said  they  must  get  his  mouth  open  some- 
how and  pour  a  spoonful  of  milk  into  his  mouth,  and  call 
upon  him  as  loudly  as  they  could  to  swallow.  What  physi- 
cian have  they  sent  for  ?  Joseph  asked  the  messenger,  but 
he  could  not  remember  the  name. 

It  was  Ecanus  who  was  sitting  by  Dan's  bedside  when 
Joseph  arrived,  and  Joseph  learnt  that  by  careful  nursing 
and  feeding  him  every  ten  minutes  there  was  just  a  chance 
of  saving  Dan's  life. 

For  seven  days  Dan's  life  receded,  and  it  was  not  till  the 
eighth  day  the  wheel  of  life  paused  on  the  edge  of  the  abyss. 
Dan,  with  his  eyes  turned  up  under  the  eyelids,  only  the  white 
showing,  lay  motionless ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  morning 
of  the  ninth  day  that  the  wheel  began  to  revolve  back  again  ; 
but  so  slow  were  its  revolutions  that  Joseph  was  in  doubt 
for  two  or  three  days.  But  on  the  fifth  day  he  was  sure  that 
Dan  was  mending,  and  in  about  three  days  more  the  pupils 
of  Dan's  eyes  looked  at  his  son's  from  under  the  eyelids.  He 
spoke  a  few  words  and  took  his  milk  more  easily,  without 
being  asked  to  swallow.  The  pains  in  his  head  returned  with 
consciousness ;  he  often  moaned ;  the  doctor  was  obliged 
to  give  him  opiates,  but  he  continued  to  mend  and  in  three 
weeks  was  speaking  of  going  out  to  walk  in  the  garden.  To 
gain  his  end  he  often  showed  a  certain  childish  cunning, 
urging  Joseph  on  one  occasion  to  go  to  the  verandah  to  see 
if  somebody  was  coming  up  the  garden,  and  as  soon  as 
Joseph's  back  was  turned  he  slipped  out  of  bed  with  the 
intention  of  getting  to  his  clothes.  He  fell,  without,  however, 
hurting  himself,  and  was  put  back  to  bed  and  kept  there  for 
three  more  weeks  before  he  was  allowed  a  short  walk.     Even 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  167 

then  the  concession  seemed  to  be  given  too  soon ;  for  he 
could  not  distinguish  the  different  trees,  nor  could  he  see 
the  parrots,  though  he  could  hear  them,  and  he  remained  in 
purblindness  for  some  two  or  three  weeks ;  but  his  sight 
returned,  and  he  said  to  Joseph :  that  is  a  palm-tree  and  that 
is  a  pepper-tree.  Joseph  answered  that  he  said  truly  and 
hastened  across  the  garden  to  meet  Ecanus,  for  he  desired  to 
ask  him  privily  if  his  father  were  out  of  all  danger;  and  the 
answer  to  his  question  was  that  Dan's  life  would  pass  away 
in  a  swoon  like  the  one  he  had  just  come  out  of,  but  he  might 
swoon  many  times  —  two  or  three  times,  perhaps  oftener  — 
before  he  swooned  for  the  last  time.  More  than  that  Ecanus 
could  not  say.  A  silence  fell  suddenly  between  them,  and 
wondering  what  term  of  life  his  father  had  still  to  traverse 
before  he  swooned  into  eternity,  Joseph  followed  the  physi- 
cian through  the  wilting  alleys,  seeking  the  shadiest  parts, 
for  the  summer  was  well-nigh  upon  them  now. 

At  the  end  of  one  of  these,  out  of  the  sun's  rays,  the  old 
man  lay  propped  up  among  cushions,  dreaming,  or  perhaps 
only  conscious,  of  the  refreshing  breeze  that  came  and  went 
away  again.  But  he  awoke  at  the  sound  of  their  steps  on 
the  sanded  paths,  and  raised  his  stick  as  a  sign  to  them  to 
come  to  him,  and,  seeing  that  he  wished  to  speak,  Joseph 
leaned  over  his  chair,  putting  his  ear  close  to  his  father's 
face,  for  Dan's  speech  was  still  thick  and  often  inarticulate. 
Thou  wast  nearly  going  down  in  the  storm,  he  said,  and 
Joseph  could  hardly  believe  that  he  heard  rightly,  for  what 
could  his  father  know  of  the  storm  on  the  lake,  he  being  in  a 
deep  swoon  at  the  time  beyond  the  reach  of  words.  He 
asked  his  father  who  had  told  him  of  the  storm,  but  Dan  could 
say  no  more  than  that  a  voice  had  told  him  that  there  was  a 
great  storm  upon  the  lake  and  that  Joseph  was  in  it.  Miracle 
upon  miracle !  Joseph  cried,  and  he  related  his  escape  from 
shipwreck ;  how  when  coming  in  Peter's  boat  from  the  op- 
posite shores  the  wind  had  risen,  carrying  the  lake  in  showers 


i68  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

over  the  boat  till  all  were  wetted  to  their  skins.  But,  un- 
mindful of  these  showers,  Jesus  had  continued  his  teaching, 
even  after  a  great  wave  wrenched  away  a  plank  or  part  of 
one.  Master,  if  the  boat  be  not  staunched  we  perish,  Peter 
said,  for  which  Jesus  rebuked  Peter  and  called  them  all  to 
come  forward  and  kneel  closer  about  him.  Kneel,  he  said, 
your  faces  towards  me,  and  forget  the  plank  and  remember 
your  sins.  We  could  not  do  else  but  as  we  were  bidden,  and 
we  all  knelt  about  him,  our  thoughts  fixed  as  well  as  we  were 
able  to  fix  them  on  our  sins,  but  the  water  was  coming  into 
the  boat  all  the  while,  and  in  the  midst  of  our  prayers  we 
said  :  in  another  moment  we  perish  if  he  stay  not  the  wind  and 
waves.  We  thought  that  he  would  stand  up  in  the  bow  and 
command,  but  he  remained  seated,  and  continued  to  teach 
us,  but  the  wind  lulled  all  the  same,  and  when  we  looked 
round  the  boat  was  staunch  again,  and  we  made  the  wharf 
at  Capernaum  easily. 

Ecanus,  who  was  a  man  of  little  faith,  asked  Joseph  if  he 
had  seen  anybody  put  his  hand  to  the  plank  and  restore 
it  to  its  place,  and  Joseph  answered  that  all  were  grouped 
round  the  Master  praying,  and  that  none  had  fallen  away 
from  the  group.  But  there  were  some  in  the  boat  that  saw  a 
little  angel  speeding  over  the  waves.  Philip  saw  both  wings 
and  the  angel's  feet,  but  I  had  only  a  glimpse.     If  thou 

wouldst  only  let  me  bring  him  to  thee But,  reading  his 

father's  face,  Joseph  continued :  if  thou  haven't  faith. 
Father,  he  couldn't  do  anything  for  thee.  Father,  let  me 
bring  him.  This  shows  no  distrust  in  your  power,  he  inter- 
jected suddenly,  turning  to  Ecanus.  Each  man  has  powers 
given  to  him ;  some  are  physical  and  some  spiritual ;  some 
are  powerful  in  one  element  and  some  in  another.  But  no 
magician  that  I  have  met  has  power  over  fire  and  water. 
Only  those  into  whom  God  has  descended  can  command  both 
fire  and  water  alike.  And  he  related  that  when  they  passed 
through  Chorazin  and  a  woman  ran  out  of  her  house  crying 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  169 

that  her  little  boy  had  fallen  into  the  fire,  Jesus  had  asked 
her  if  she  had  applied  any  remedy,  and  on  her  saying  she  had 
not,  he  had  said  :  then  I  will  cure  him.  With  his  breath 
he  restored  him,  and  five  minutes  after  the  child  was  playing 
with  his  little  comrades  in  the  street.  If,  however,  she  had 
poured  oil  on  the  wounds  he  couldn't  have  cured  them, 
Joseph  explained,  for  his  affinity  with  fire  would  have  been 
interrupted.  In  the  village  of  Opeira  a  child  while  carrying  a 
kettle  of  boiling  water  from  the  fire  tipped  it  over,  burning  a 
good  deal  of  the  flesh  of  one  foot,  which,  however,  healed 
under  Jesus'  breath  almost  as  soon  as  he  had  breathed  upon 
it.  And  yet  another  child  was  healed  of  the  croup,  but  this 
time  it  was  John  who  imposed  his  hands :  Jesus  had  trans- 
mitted some  of  his  power  over  the  ills  of  the  flesh  to  the  dis- 
ciples. On  Dan  asking  if  Joseph  had  seen  Jesus  cast  out 
devils,  Joseph  replied  that  he  had,  but  it  would  take  some 
time  to  tell  the  exordium.  Whereupon  Ecanus  remembered 
that  other  patients  waited  for  his  attendance  and  took  his 
leave,  warning  Joseph  before  leaving  against  the  danger  of 
tiring  his  father,  a  thing  that  Joseph  promised  not  to  do; 
but  as  soon  as  the  door  closed  after  the  physician  Dan  began 
to  beg  so  earnestly  for  stories  that  Joseph  could  not  do  else 
than  tell  him  of  the  miracle  he  had  witnessed.  Better  to 
submit,  he  thought,  than  to  agitate  his  father  by  refusal ; 
and  he  began  this  narrative ;  the  morning  of  the  storm,  which 
they  would  not  have  succeeded  in  weathering  had  it  not  been 
for  the  intervention  of  the  angel.  Jesus  and  some  of  the 
disciples,  including  Joseph,  had  set  their  sail  for  the  Gadarene 
coasts;  and  finding  a  landing-place  by  a  shore  seeming  deso- 
late, they  proceeded  into  the  country ;  and  while  seeking  a 
sufficient  number  to  exhort  and  to  teach,  their  search  led 
them  past  some  broken  ruins,  shards  of  an  old  castle,  ap- 
parently tenantless.  They  were  about  to  pass  it  without 
examination  when  a  wailing  voice  from  one  of  the  turrets 
brought  them  to  a  standstill.     They  were  not  at  first  certain 


lyo  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

whether  the  waiHng  sound  was  the  voice  of  the  wind  or  a 
human  voice,  but  they  had  hearkened  and  with  difficulty 
had  separated  the  doleful  sound  into  :  woe  !  woe  !  woe  !  unto 
thee,  Jerusalem,  woe !  woe !  It  sounds  to  me,  Peter  said, 
like  one  that  is  making  a  mock  of  thee,  Master.     Having 

heard  that  thou  foretellest  woe  to  Chorazin But  Judas, 

seeing  a  cloud  gathering  on  Peter's  face,  nudged  Peter,  and 
the  twain  went  up  together  and  some  minutes  after  returned 
with  a  half-naked  creature,  an  outcast  whom  they  had  found 
crouching  like  a  jackal  in  a  hole  among  the  stones,  one  clearly 
possessed  by  many  devils.  Now  as  all  were  in  wonder  what 
his  history  might  be,  a  swineherd  passing  by  at  the  time  told 
them  how  the  poor,  naked  creature  would  take  a  beating  or 
a  gift  of  food  for  his  singing  with  the  same  gentle  grace. 
The  words  had  hardly  passed  the  swineherd's  lips  than  the 
possessed  began  to  sing  : 

Woe  !  woe  !  woe  !  the  winds  are  wailing. 

The  four  great  sisters,  the  winds  of  the  world, 
Call  one  to  the  other,  and  it  is  thy  doom 
They  are  calling,  Jerusalem. 
Woe  !  woe  !  woe  ! 
The  North  brings  ruin,  the  South  brings  sorrow. 
The  East  wind  grief,  and  the  West  wind  tears 
For  Jerusalem. 
Woe  !  woe  !  woe  ! 

And  he  sung  this  little  song  several  times,  till  the  hearts  of 
the  disciples  hardened  against  the  outcast  and  they  were 
minded  to  beat  him  if  he  did  not  cease ;  but  the  swineherd 
warned  them  that  a  surer  way  to  silence  him  was  by  giving 
him  some  food  ;  and  while  he  stood  by  eating,  the  swineherd 
confided  the  story  of  the  fool,  or  as  much  of  it  as  he  knew,  to 
Jesus.  The  fool,  he  said,  came  from  Jerusalem  some  two 
years  ago.  He  had  been  driven  out  of  the  Temple,  which 
he  frequented  daily,  crying  about  the  courts  the  song  with 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  171 

which  he  wearied  you  just  now,  till  the  most  patient  were 
unable  to  bear  it  any  longer;  and  every  time  he  met  a  priest 
he  looked  into  his  face  and  sang :  woe !  woe !  woe !  unto 
Jerusalem,  and  whenever  he  met  a  scribe  he  would  cry  :  woe  ! 
woe  !  woe !  unto  Jerusalem,  hindering  them  in  their  work 
about  the  Temple.  Some  stones  were  thrown,  but  enough 
life  was  left  in  him  to  crawl  away,  and  as  soon  as  he  recovered 
from  his  wounds  he  was  about  again,  singing  his  melancholy 
ditty  (he  knows  but  one).  He  was  told  if  he  did  not  cease  he 
would  be  beaten  with  rods,  but  he  could  not  cease  it,  and 
started  his  ditty  again  as  soon  as  he  could  bear  a  shirt  on 
his  back ;  and  then  he  must  have  travelled  up  here  afoot, 
picking  up  a  bit  here  and  a  bit  there,  getting  a  lift  in  an  ox- 
cart. He  is  without  memory  of  anything,  who  he  is,  where  he 
came  from,  or  who  taught  him  his  song.  He  does  not  know 
why  he  chose  that  broken  tower  for  a  dwelling,  nor  do  we, 
but  fortunately  it  stands  in  a  waste.  We  hear  him  singing 
as  we  go  by  to  our  work  and  pitch  him  scraps  of  food  from 
time  to  time.  We  hear  him  as  we  return  in  the  evening  to 
our  homes  making  his  melancholy  dwelling  sadder  with  his 
song.  But  he  is  a  harmless,  poor  fool,  save  for  the  annoyance 
of  his  song,  which  he  cannot  staunch  any  more  than  the 
wind  in  the  broken  turrets.  A  harmless  fool  who  will  follow 
whosoever  asks  him  to  follow,  unafraid,  and  taking  a  blow  or 
a  hunch  of  bread  in  the  same  humour,  and  distinguishing  no 
man  from  the  next  one. 

As  the  swineherd  said  these  words  the  fool  said  :  Jesus, 
thou  hast  come  to  my  help,  but  woe  to  thee,  Son  of  God, 
thou  wilt  suffer  thy  death  in  Jerusalem ;  and  looking  up 
into  Jesus'  face  more  intensely :  oh.  Son  of  Man,  what 
aileth  thee  or  me  ?  And  knowest  thou  anything  of  the 
cloud  of  woe  that  hangs  over  Jerusalem  .?  To  which  Jesus 
made  no  answer,  but  called  upon  the  devils  to  say  how  many 
there  were,  and  they  answered :  three.  Then  depart  ye 
three,  Jesus  replied,  and  was  about  to  impose  his  hands  when 


172  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

the  three  devils  asked  whither  they  should  go,  to  which  Jesus 
answered :  ye  must  seek  another  refuge,  for  here  ye  cannot 
remain.  Seek  among  the  wolves  and  foxes.  But  these  will 
flee  from  us,  the  devils  answered ;  allow  us  to  enter  the  hogs 
rooting  the  ground  before  thee.  But  at  this  the  swineherd 
cried  out :  forbid  the  devils  to  enter  into  my  hogs,  else  they 
will  run  over  the  cliffs  and  drown  themselves  in  the  sea. 
Though  you  are  Jews,  and  do  not  look  favourably  on  hogs, 
they  are  as  God  made  them.  To  which  Jesus  answered, 
turning  to  his  disciples :  the  man  speaks  well,  for  if  unclean 
they  be,  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  made  them  so.  And 
taking  pity  on  the  hogs  that  were  rooting  quietly,  unaware 
of  the  devils  eager  to  enter  into  them,  he  said  :  there  are 
statues  of  gods  and  goddesses  in  Tiberias,  enter  into  them. 
And  immediately  the  devils  took  flight,  giving  thanks  to 
Jesus  as  they  departed  thither. 

Joseph  waited  a  moment  and  tried  to  read  his  father's 
face.  But  Dan's  face  remained  fixed,  and  as  if  purposely, 
which  vexed  Joseph,  who  cried :  now.  Father,  thou  mayest 
believe  or  disbelieve,  or  be  it  thou'rt  naturally  averse  from 
Jesus,  but  thou  knowest  as  well  as  I  do  that  two  days  after 
the  great  storm  a  statue  of  the  goddess  Venus  fell  from  her 
pedestal  in  the  streets  of  Tiberias  and  was  broken.  But, 
Joseph,  when  the  statue  fell  I  was  sick  and  had  no  knowledge 
of  the  fall.  But  if  a  statue  of  the  goddess  Venus  did  fall  from 
her  pedestal,  I'd  ask  why  the  devils  should  choose  to  destroy 
false  gods  ?  Were  it  not  more  reasonable  for  them  to  uphold 
the  false  gods  safe  and  secure  on  their  pedestals  ?  The  gods 
were  overthrown  for  a  sign  that  the  devils  had  left  the  fool's 
body,  Joseph  answered.  But  why,  Dan  replied,  didn't 
three  statues  fall  ?  —  a  statue  for  each  devil  —  and  whither 
did  the  devils  go  ?  That  one  statue  should  fall  was  enough 
for  a  sign,  Joseph  said,  but  no  more  would  he  say,  for  his 
father's  incredulity  irritated  him,  and  seeing  that  he  had 
angered  his  son,  Dan  stretched  his  hand  to  him  and  said : 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  173 

perhaps  we  are  more  eager  to  believe  when  we  are  young 
than  when  we  aire  old.  And  he  asked  Joseph  to  tell  him 
of  some  other  miracle  that  he  might  have  seen  Jesus 
perform. 

Joseph  had  seen  Jesus  perform  many  other  miracles,  but 
he  was  loath  to  relate  them,  for  none,  he  felt  sure,  would 
impose  upon  his  father  the  belief  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah 
that  was  promised  to  the  Jews.  All  the  same  the  miracle 
of  the  woods  rose  in  his  mind,  and  so  plainly  that  he  could 
not  keep  the  story  back,  and  almost  before  he  was  aware 
of  it  he  began  the  relation,  telling  how  Jesus,  James,  John, 
Andrew,  and  himself  were  at  table,  mingling  jest  with  earnest 
(Peter  was  not  with  them,  being  kept  at  home,  for  his  wife 
was  in  child-birth  at  the  time),  when  the  women  of  the 
village  were  heard  running  up  the  street  crying  together 
to  the  men  to  take  part  in  the  chase  of  the  wild  man  of  the' 
woods,  who  had  come  down  amongst  them  once  more  questing 
the  flesh  of  women.  But  this  time  we'll  put  a  stop  to  his 
leaping,  they  cried.  A  goatherd  coming  from  the  hills  has 
seen  him  enter  a  cave  and  as  soon  as  he  has  folded  his  goats 
he  will  lead  us  to  it.  But  the  villagers  were  in  no  mood  for 
waiting ;  the  goats  could  be  folded  by  another ;  and  the  goat- 
herd was  bidden  and  obliged  to  leave  his  goats  and  lead  the 
way,  Jesus  and  his  disciples  following  with  the  others  through 
the  forest  till  we  came  to  a  ravine.  And  the  goatherd  said  : 
look  between  yon  great  rocks,  for  it  was  between  them  he 
passed  out  of  my  sight.  And  let  one  of  you  creep  in  after 
him,  but  I  must  return  to  my  goats,  having  no  confidence 
that  they  have  been  properly  folded  for  the  night.  The 
goatherd  would  have  run  away  if  he  hadn't  been  held  fast, 
and  there  were  questions  as  to  who  would  enter.  The  first 
said,  "no,"  the  second  the  same,  giving  as  reason  that 
they  were  not  young  or  strong  enough,  whereas  the  goatherd 
was  both,  and  none  better  endowed  for  the  struggle ;  and  the 
people  became  of  one  mind  that  they  must  beat  the  goatherd 


174  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

with  the  crows  If  he  did  not  go  down  into  the  cave,  but  Jesus, 
arriving  in  time,  said  :  it  is  not  lawful  to  break  into  any  man's 
dwelHng  with  crows,  nor  to  kill  him  because  his  sins  affront 
you ;  let  us  rather  give  him  means  to  cut  himself  free  from 
sins.  At  which  words  the  people  were  near  to  jeering,  for  it 
seemed  to  them  that  Jesus  knew  little  of  the  man  they  were 
pursuing,  and  they  knew  not  what  to  understand  when  he 
asked  if  any  among  them  had  a  long,  sharp  knife,  and  there 
was  a  movement  as  if  they  were  about  to  leave  him ;  but 
one  man  said :  thou  shalt  have  mine,  Master,  and,  taking  it 
out  of  his  girdle,  he  gave  it  to  Jesus,  who  tested  it  with  his 
thumb,  and,  satisfied  with  it,  laid  it  on  the  rock  beside  the 
cave.  But  the  people  began  to  mutter :  he  will  use  the  knife 
against  us.  Master.  Not  against  you,  Jesus  answered,  but 
against  himself,  thereby  defending  himself  against  himself. 
There  were  mutterings  among  the  people,  and  some  said  that 
his  words  were  too  hard  to  understand,  but  all  were  silent 
as  soon  as  Jesus  raised  his  hands  and  stepped  towards  the 
cave,  and  began  to  breathe  his  spirit  against  the  lust  that 
possessed  the  man's  flesh.  We  must  return  here,  he  said, 
with  oil  and  linen  cloths.  At  which  all  wondered,  not 
knowing  what  meaning  to  put  upon  his  words,  but  they 
believed  Jesus,  and  came  at  daybreak  to  meet  him  at  the 
edge  of  the  forest  and  followed  the  path  as  before  till  they 
came  to  the  hillside.  The  man  was  no  longer  hidden  in  his 
cave,  but  sat  outside  by  the  rock  on  which  Jesus  had  laid  the 
knife,  and  Jesus  said  :  happy  is  he  born  into  the  world  with- 
out sting,  and  happy  is  he  out  of  whom  men  have  taken  the 
sting  before  he  knew  it,  but  happier  than  these  is  the  man 
that  cuts  out  the  part  that  offends  him,  setting  the  spirit  free 
as  this  man  has  done. 

Joseph  ceased  speaking  suddenly  and  stood  waiting  for 
his  father  to  admire  the  miracle  he  had  related,  but  Dan's 
tongue  struggled  with  words ;  and  Joseph,  being  taken  as 
it  were  with  another  flux  of  words,  and  like  one  apprehensive 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  175 

of  the  argument  that  none  shall  undo  God's  handiwork,  set 
out  on  the  telling  that  the  cause  of  man's  lust  of  women  was 
that  God  and  the  devil  had  a  bet  together  —  the  devil  saying 
that  if  God  let  him  sting  a  man  in  a  certain  part  of  his  hide, 
he  would  get  him  in  the  end  despite  all  that  God  might  do  to 
save  him  from  hell.  To  which  God,  being  in  the  humour, 
consented,  and  the  sting  was  put  into  nearly  all  men.  A 
few  the  devil  overlooked,  and  these  have  much  spared  to 
them,  and  those  out  of  whom  the  sting  is  taken  in  childhood 
are  fortunate,  but  those  who,  like  the  wild  man  of  the  wood, 
cut  the  sting  out  of  their  own  free  will  are  worthy  of  all 
praise ;  and  he  cited  the  authority  of  Jesus  that  man  should 
mutilate  his  body  till  it  conform  perforce  to  his  piety. 
But  the  story  of  man's  fall  is  told  differently  in  the  Book 
of  Genesis,  my  son.  The  admonition  that  he  was  laying 
violent  hands  on  a  sacred  book  startled  Joseph  out  of  his 
meditations,  and  in  some  confusion  of  words  and  mind  he 
began  to  prevaricate,  saying  that  he  thought  he  had  made 
himself  clear:  the  release  of  pious  souls  from  the  bondage 
of  the  flesh  was  more  important  than  the  continuance  of  the 
impious.  Moreover  in  the  days  of  Moses,  Israel  was  not 
steeped  in  as  many  iniquities  as  she  is  now,  and  the  Day  of 
Judgment  was  not  so  close  at  hand.  More  men  meant 
more  sins,  and  sin  has  become  so  common  that  God  can 
endure  the  torture  no  longer.  .  .  .  Again  Joseph  ceased 
speaking  suddenly  and,  almost  agape,  stood  gazing  into  his 
father's  face,  reading  therein  a  great  perplexity,  for  Dan  was 
asking  himself  for  what  good  reason  had  God  given  him  so 
strange  a  son.  He  would  have  been  content  to  let  the  story 
pass  into  another,  but  Joseph  was  waiting  for  him  to  speak, 
and  speaking  incontinently  he  said  he  had  heard  that  in  the 
Temple  of  Astoreth  the  Phoenician  youths  often  castrated 
themselves  with  shards  of  shells  or  pottery  and  threw  their 
testicles  in  the  lap  of  the  goddess,  crying  out :  art  thou  satis- 
fied now,  Astoreth  ?     But  he  did  not  know  of  any  text  in  their 


176  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Scriptures  that  counselled  such  a  practice;  and  the  intro- 
duction of  it  seemed  to  savour  of  borrowing  from  the  heathen. 
Whereupon  Joseph  averred  that  whereas  the  wont  of  the 
Phoenician  youths  is  without  reason,  the  same  could  not  be 
said  of  Jesus' s  device  to  save  a  soul.  To  which  Dan  rejoined 
that  the  leaving  of  the  knife  for  the  man  to  mutilate  himself 
with,  seemed  to  him  to  be  contrary  to  all  the  rumours  of 
Jesus  that  had  come  to  his  ears.  I  have  heard  that  he  would 
set  the  law  aside  and  the  traditions  of  our  race,  declaring  the 
uncircumcised  to  be  acceptable  to  God  as  the  Jew;  that  he 
sits  down  to  food  with  the  uncircumcised  and  lays  no  store 
on  burnt  offerings.  Nor  did  Isaiah,  Joseph  interrupted,  and 
circumcision  is  itself  a  mutilation.  I  do  not  contest  its  value, 
mark  you ;  but  if  thou  deny'st  that  Jesus  was  right  to  leave 
a  knife  whereby  the  sinner  might  free  himself  from  sin  thou 
must  also  deny  circumcision.  Circumcision  is  the  sign  of 
our  race,  Dan  answered.  A  physical  sign,  an  outward  sign, 
Joseph  cried,  and  he  asked  his  father  to  say  if  the  Jews  would 
ever  forget  priests  and  ritual ;  and  he  reminded  his  father 
that  the  once  sinner,  now  a  holy  anchorite,  did  not  bring  an 
appetency  into  the  world  that  could  be  overcome  by  prayer, 
and  so  had  to  resort  to  the  knife  that  he  might  live  in  the 
spirit.  It  seems  to  me,  Joseph,  that  we  should  live  as  God 
made  us,  for  better  or  worse.     But,  Father,  once  you  admit 

circumcision A  man  should  not  be  over-nice,  Joseph, 

and  though  it  be  far  from  my  thought  to  wish  to  see  thee  a 
fornicator  or  adulterer  it  would  rejoice  me  exceedingly  to  see 

grandchildren  about  me.     There  is  a  maiden Another 

reason,  Father,  of  which  I  have  not  yet  spoken  makes  the 

marriage  of  the  flesh  seem  a  vanity  to  me,  and  that  is 

I  know  it  well,  Joseph,  that  the  great  day  is  coming  when  the 
world  will  be  remoulded  afresh.  But,  Father,  dost  thou  be- 
lieve in  nothing  but  observances  ?  Tell  me,  Joseph,  did  thy 
prophet  ever  raise  anybody  from  the  dead  ^  Yes,  and  hoping 
to  convince  his  father  by  another  miracle  he  fell  to  telling 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  177 

eagerly  how  a  young  girl  who  was  being  carried  to  the  grave 
was  called  back  to  life. 

She  was,  he  said,  coming  from  her  wedding  feast.  And 
he  told  how  there  were  in  the  village  two  young  girls,  one  as 
fair  as  the  other,  rivals  in  love  as  well  as  in  beauty,  both 
having  the  same  young  man  in  their  hearts,  and  for  a  long 
time  it  seemed  uncertain  which  would  get  him  ;  for  he  seemed 
to  favour  them  alternately,  till  at  length  Ruth,  unable  to 
bear  her  jealousy  any  longer,  went  to  the  young  man,  saying 
that  she  was  close  on  a  resolve  to  see  him  no  more.  Your 
lover  ?  he  answered,  his  cheek  blanching,  for  he  dearly  loved 
her.  I  haven't  gotten  a  lover,  she  said ;  only  a  share  in  a 
lover.  Thy  words,  Ruth,  relieve  me  of  much  trouble,  he 
replied,  and  took  her  in  his  arms  and  said :  it  was  a  good 
thought  that  brought  thee  hither,  for  if  thou  hadst  not  come 
I  might  never  have  been  able  to  decide  between  you,  but  thy 
coming  has  given  me  strength,  and  now  I  know  which  I 
desire.  And  then  it  was  the  girl's  cheek  that  grew  pale,  for 
he  hadn't  answered  at  once  which  he  would  have.  Which  ? 
she  asked,  and  he  replied :  thee,  not  Rachel.  If  that  be  so, 
she  answered,  I  am  divided  between  joy  and  sorrow ;  gladness 
for  myself,  sorrow  for  my  friend  ;  and  it  behoves  me  to  go' to 
her  and  tell  her  of  her  loss.  I  am  the  chosen  one,  she  said  to 
Rachel,  who  turned  away,  saying :  had  I  gone  to  him  and 
asked  him  to  choose  between  us  he  would  have  chosen  me. 
He  couldn't  do  else. 

She  began  to  brood  and  to  speak  of  a  spell  laid  upon  the 
young  man,  and  her  visits  to  a  sorceress  came  to  be  spoken 
about  so  openly  that  it  was  against  the  bridegroom's  wish 
that  Rachel  was  asked  to  the  wedding  feast ;  but  Ruth 
pleaded,  saying  that  it  would  be  no  feast  for  her  if  Rachel 
did  not  present  herself  at  the  table.  The  twain  sat  opposite 
each  other  at  table,  Rachel  seemingly  the  happier,  eating, 
drinking,  laughing,  foretelling  that  Mondis  would  fill  Ruth's 
life  with  happiness  from  end  to  end.     Thou  wilt  never  see 


178  .  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

the  face  of  an  evil  hour,  she  said,  and  Ruth  in  her  great  joy 
answered  :  Rachel,  I  know  not  why  he  didn't  choose  thee ; 
thou'rt  so  beautiful ;  and  the  young  Mondis  wooed  her  at 
the  table,  to  Ruth's  pleasure,  for  she  knew  of  his  thankfulness 
to  Rachel  for  allowing  the  wedding  to  pass  in  concord,  with- 
out a  jarring  note. 

She  seemed  to  listen  to  him  as  a  sister  might  to  a  beloved 
brother,  and  as  the  wedding  feast  drew  to  a  close  she  said : 
Ruth  shall  drink  wine  with  me,  and  the  cups  were  passed 
across  the  table,  and  laughter  and  jest  flowed  on  for  a  while. 
But  soon  after  drinking  from  Rachel's  cup  Ruth  turned  pale 
and,  leaning  back  into  the  arms  of  her  bridegroom,  she  said  : 
I  know  not  what  ails  me.  .  .  .  And  then  a  little  later  on 
she  was  heard  to  say :  I  am  going,  and  with  a  little  sigh  she 
went  out  of  her  life,  lying  on  her  bridegroom's  arm  white 
and  still  like  a  cut  flower.  The  word  "poison"  swelled  up 
louder  and  louder,  and  all  eyes  were  directed  against  Rachel, 
who  to  prove  her  innocence  drank  the  wine  that  was  left  in 
Ruth's  glass;  but  it  was  said  afterwards  that  she  had  not 
drunk  out  of  the  cup  that  she  had  handed  to  Ruth.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  a  house  of  joy  was  turned  into  a  house  of  tears. 
Bridegroom,  parents  and  friends  fell  into  procession,  and  we 
who  were  coming  down  the  street  met  the  bier,  and  after 
hearing  the  story  of  the  girl's  death  Jesus  said  :  Let  me  speak 
to  her,  and,  leaning  over  her,  he  whispered  in  her  ear,  and 
soon  after  we  thought  it  was  the  wind  that  stirred  the  folds 
of  her  garments,  but  her  limbs  were  astir  in  them ;  the  colour 
came  back  to  her  cheeks ;  she  raised  herself  on  her  bier,  and 
with  his  bride  in  his  arms  the  bridegroom  worshipped  Jesus 
as  a  God ;  but  Jesus  reproved  him,  saying :  it  was  by  the 
power  of  God  working  through  me  that  she  was  raised  from 
the  dead :  give  thanks  to  him  who  alone  merits  our  thanks. 
But  Rachel,  who  had  been  following  the  bier  in  great 
grief,  hanging  on  the  bridegroom's  arm,  could  not  contain 
herself  at  the  sight  of  Ruth  raised  from  the  dead,  and  it 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  179 

wrenching  her  reason  out  of  her  control  compelled  her 
to  call  upon  the  people  to  cast  out  the  Nazarene,  who 
worked  cures  with  the  help  of  the  demons  with  whom 
he  was  in  league,  which  proved  to  everybody  that  her 
friendly  words  to  Ruth  at  the  feast  were  make-believe,  and 
that  she  had  been  plotting  all  the  while  how  she  might  ruin 
her. 

At  the  sight  of  Ruth  beautiful  and  living  naught  mat- 
tered to  Rachel  but  revenge,  and  she  crossed  the  street 
as  if  with  the  intention  of  striking  her  with  a  dagger,  but 
as  she  approached  Jesus  the  flame  of  fury  died  out  of  her 
face,  and  like  one  overwhelmed  with  a  great  love  she  cast 
herself  at  his  feet,  and  could  not  be  removed.  Why  do 
you  turn  the  woman  from  me  ?  he  asked.  Whatever  her 
sins  may  have  been  they  are  forgiven,  for  she  loves  me.  But 
she  loved  the  other  man  five  seconds  before,  Dan  submitted, 
and  Joseph  replying  to  him  said  :  she  only  knew  that  pas- 
sion of  the  flesh  which  we  share  with  the  beasts  of  the  fields, 
the  fowls  of  the  air  and  the  fish  in  the  sea.  But  now  she 
loves  Jesus  as  we  love  him  —  with  the  spirit.  And  next 
day  she  brought  all  her  wealth  to  him ;  the  golden  comb 
she  was  wont  to  wear  in  her  hair  she  would  place  in  his ; 
and  the  silks  and  linen  in  which  she  was  wont  to  clothe  her- 
self she  laid  at  his  service ;  but  he  told  her  to  sell  all  these 
things  and  give  the  money  to  the  poor.  Give  to  the  poor ! 
That  is  what  I  hear  always,  cried  Dan ;  but  if  we  gave  all 
to  the  poor  we  would  be  as  poor  as  the  very  poorest ;  and 
where,  then,  would  the  money  come  from  with  which  we 
now  help  the  poor  ? 

Give  to  the  poor  that  thou  mayest  become  worthy  of  a 
place  in  the  world  to  come.  This  world  is  but  a  shadow  — 
an  illusion,  Joseph  answered  defiantly.  Thou  hast  that 
answer  for  everything,  Joseph ;  and  another  day  when  I'm 
stronger  I'll  argue  that  out  with  thee.  I  have  tired  thee. 
Father ;  but  if  I've  told  thee  many  stories  it  was  because 


i8o  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Because,  Dan  retorted,  thou  wouldst  have  Jesus  cast  his 
spells  over  me.  But  I've  no  use  for  them  ;  thou  art  enough. 
And  while  Joseph  debated  how  he  might  convince  his 
father  that  the  girl  was  really  dead,  Dan  asked  for  news 
of  Rachel,  and  Joseph  answered  that  she  was  with  them 
every  day,  that  their  company  had  been  increased  by 
several  devoted  women.  Thou  hast  talked  enough,  Father, 
and  more  than  enough ;  if  Ecanus  were  to  return  he  would 
accuse  me  of  planning  to  talk  thee  to  death. 


CHAPTER    XV 

LIKE  every  other  old  Jew,  Dan  liked  the  marvellous, 
and  listened  to  his  son's  stories,  not  knowing  whether  he 
believed  or  disbelieved,  nor  seeking  to  inquire;  content 
to  enjoy  the  stories  as  they  went  by,  he  listened,  suffering 
such  a  little  disappointment  when  his  son's  voice  ceased 
as  he  might  at  the  death  of  a  melodious  wind  among  the 
branches,  the  same  little  sadness.  Moreover,  while  Joseph 
talked  he  had  his  attention,  and  it  irritated  him  to  see 
Joseph's  thoughts  wander  from  him  in  search  of  parrots 
and  monkeys ;  and  he  begged  his  son  to  tell  him  another 
miracle,  for  he  was  sure  that  Joseph  had  not  told  him  the 
last  one.  Joseph  pleaded  that  there  was  no  use  relating 
miracles  to  one  who  only  believed  in  ancient  miracles, 
a  statement  that  Dan  combated,  saying  that  one  could 
like  a  story  for  its  own  sake.  Like  a  Gentile,  Joseph  in- 
terposed gaily,  bringing  all  the  same  a  cloud  into  his  father's 
face,  which  he  would  have  liked  to  disperse  with  the  rela- 
tion of  another  miracle,  but  he  continued  to  plead  that  he 
had  told  all  his  stories.  There  was,  however,  a  certain 
faint-heartedness  in  his  pleading,  and  Dan  became  more 
certain  than  ever  that  his  son  was  holding  back  a  miracle, 
and  becoming  suddenly  curious,  he  declared  that  Joseph 
had  no  right  to  hold  back  a  story  from  him,  for  to  do  that 
provoked  argument,  and  argument  fatigued  him. 

Joseph  thought  the  device  to  extort  a  story  from  him, 
which  he  did  not  wish  to  tell,  a  shabby  one,  but,  fearing  to 
vex  his  father  in  his  present  state  of  health,  he  began  to 
think  it  would  be  better  to  tell  him  the  miracle  he  had  heard 


1 82  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

of  that  morning  at  Capernaum ;  but,  still  loath,  he  tried 
instead  to  divert  his  father's  attention  from  Jesus,  reminding 
him  of  the  numerous  matters  that  would  have  to  be  settled 
up  between  them,  especially  Dan's  responsibility  in  the 
new  adventure,  the  transport  of  grain  from  Moab  to  Jeru- 
salem. Dan's  curiosity  was  not  to  be  diverted,  and  seeing 
him  give  way  to  his  rage  like  a  petulant  child,  Joseph  de- 
cided that  he  must  tell  him,  and  he  began  with  a  disparage- 
ment of  his  story,  the  truth  of  which  he  did  not  vouch  for. 
At  Capernaum  they  were  all  telling  how  some  two  or  three 
weeks  ago  Jesus  heard  God  speaking  within  him,  and,  naming 
those  he  wished  to  accompany  him,  led  them  through  the 
woods,  up  the  slow  ascending  hills  in  silence,  no  word  being 
exchanged  between  him  and  them.  Everyone  of  the  dis- 
ciples was  aware  that  the  Master  was  in  communion  with 
his  Father  in  heaven,  and  that  his  communion  was  shared 
by  them  as  long  as  a  word  was  not  spoken.  A  word  would 
break  it;  and  so  they  journeyed  with  their  eyes  set  upon 
the  stars  or  upon  the  ground,  never  daring  to  look  for  Jesus, 
who  remained  amongst  them  for  an  hour  or  more  and  then 
seemed  to  them  to  pass  into  shadow,  only  his  voice  remain- 
ing with  them  bidding  them  to  journey  on,  which  they  did, 
each  man  in  his  faith,  until  they  reached  a  lonely  hill  on 
the  top  of  which  stood  a  blighted  tree.  Why,  Master, 
they  asked,  have  you  led  us  hither  ?  and,  receiving  no  an- 
swer, they  looked  round  for  Jesus,  but  he  was  missing,  and, 
thinking  they  walked  too  fast  and  had  left  him  on  the 
road  behind  them,  they  returned  to  the  place  where  he  had 
last  spoken  to  them ;  and,  not  finding  him  there,  they  re- 
turned to  the  hill-top,  and,  seeing  him  among  the  white 
branches  waiting  for  them,  they  knelt  and  prayed.  When 
the  stars  began  to  grow  dim  they  heard  a  voice  cry  out : 
behold  he  is  with  you,  he  who  brings  salvation  to  all  men, 
Jew  and  Gentile;  and  ye  twelve  are  bidden  to  carry  the 
joyful  tidings  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  183 

At  these  words  the  disciples  rose  from  their  knees  and 
looked  round  astonished,  for  only  four  had  gone  with  Jesus 
up  the  hillside,  but  twelve  were  kneeling  at  the  foot  of 
the  tree,  and  the  four  that  had  come  with  Jesus  knew  not 
how  the  eight  were  gathered  with  them,  nor  could  the 
eight  tell  how  they  reached  the  hill-top,  nor  what  spirit 
guided  them  thither.  The  day  is  breaking,  someone  said ; 
and  looking  towards  the  east  they  saw  innumerable  angels 
and  all  of  them  singing  hosanna;  hosannas  fell  from  the 
skies  and  blossoms  from  the  tree ;  for  the  tree  was  no  longer 
a  blighted  but  a  quickened  tree.  Jesus  was  amongst  them, 
talking  to  them,  telling  those  who  were  standing  around 
him  that  they  were  chosen  by  his  Father  in  heaven  first  of 
all,  and  then  by  him,  to  carry  the  joyful  tidings  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  and  they  all  answered :  we  heard  the  words 
that  thou  hast  spoken,  Master.  And  he  answered :  ye 
have  heard  truly,  and  I  am  here  to  carry  out  my  Father's 
will;  ye  shall  go  forth  and  bring  salvation  to  all,  Jew  and 
Gentile  alike. 

Father,  of  what  art  thou  thinking  —  that  the  twelve  slept 
and  dreamed  ?  But  before  Dan  could  find  an  answer  to 
his  son's  question  Joseph  sank  away  into  regrets  that  he 
had  acceded  to  his  father's  request  and  told  him  this  last 
miracle,  and  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  disguise  the 
fact,  in  the  telling,  that  Jesus  had  chosen  as  his  apostles 
those  who  accompanied  him  into  the  mountains.  He 
intended  to  omit  all  mention  of  this  election,  but  it  slipped 
from  him  unawares  in  the  excitement  of  the  telling,  and 
now  to  divert  his  father's  thoughts  from  the  unfortunate 
admission  Joseph  called  to  one  of  the  parrots  and  spoke 
cheerfully  to  the  bird,  and  to  the  monkey  that  came  hopping 
across  the  sward  and  jumped  into  his  arms;  but  Dan  knew 
his  son's  face  too  well  to  be  deceived  by  the  poor  show  Joseph 
could  paint  upon  it,  and  guessing  that  his  father  divined 
the  truth,  words  deserted  him  altogether.     He  sat  striving 


1 84  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

against  regret  and  hoping  that  his  father  did  not  think  he 
loved  him  less  than  he  loved  Jesus.  At  last  something  had 
to  be  said,  and  Dan  could  find  nothing  better  to  say  than : 
Joseph,  there  is  gloom  in  thy  face ;  but  be  not  afraid  to  tell 
me  if  thou  art  disappointed  that  thou  wert  not  with  Jesus 
when  his  Father  spoke  to  him  out  of  heaven,  and  thereby 
missed  being  among  the  apostles.  For  this  suspicion 
Joseph  rebuked  his  father,  but  as  it  was  his  dearest  wish  to 
be  numbered  amongst  the  apostles  his  rebukes  were  faint, 
and  feeling  he  was  making  bad  worse,  he  put  as  bold  a 
face  upon  it  as  he  could,  saying  to  his  father  that  he  would 
have  liked  to  have  been  numbered  among  the  twelve,  but 
since  it  did  not  befall  he  was  content ;  and  to  himself  that 
he  was  younger  than  any  that  were  elected,  and  if  one  of 
them  were  to  die  he  would  be  called  to  fill  his  place. 

So  much  admission  was  forced  upon  him,  for  it  was  im- 
portant that  his  father  should  accept  his  absence  from  the 
mountain  that  day  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  his  not  having 
been  elected  an  apostle,  the  real  reason  being,  not  his  ab- 
sence from  the  mountain,  but  the  fact  that  he  chose  to  turn 
aside  from  Jesus  and  leave  him  to  attend  his  father's  sick- 
bed. That  was  the  sin  he  was  judged  guilty  of,  an  unpar- 
donable act  in  Jesus'  mind,  and  one  that  discredited  Joseph 
for  ever,  proving  him  for  good  and  all  to  be  unworthy  to 
follow  Jesus,  which  might  be  no  more  than  the  truth.  He 
could  follow  Jesus'  way  of  thinking,  apprehending  it  re- 
motely; but  to  his  father,  Jesus'  present  teaching,  that 
one  must  learn  to  hate  one's  father  and  one's  mother,  one's 
wife  and  one's  children  before  one  can  love  God,  would  be 
incomprehensible;  and  he  would  be  estranged  from  Jesus 
for  ever,  as  many  of  the  disciples  had  been  that  morning 
by  such  ultra-idealism.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have 
withheld  the  miracle,  he  said  to  himself,  and  then  he  lost 
himself  thinking  how  the  election  of  the  apostles  had  dropped 
from  him,  for  it  had  nothing  to  do. with  the  miracle,  and  then 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  185 

awakening  a  little  from  his  reverie  he  assured  himself  that 
his  father  must  never  know,  for  Dan  could  never  understand 
Jesus  in  his  extravagant  moods.  But  if  some  accident  should 
bring  the  knowledge  to  his  father  ?  It  wasn't  likely  that 
this  could  happen,  for  who  knew  it  ?  Hardly  was  it  known 
among  those  whom  he  had  met  that  morning  as  he  crossed 
the  plain  of  Gennesaret.  He  had  seen  the  disciples  with 
Jesus,  Jesus  walking  ahead  with  Peter  and  with  James 
and  John,  to  whom  he  addressed  not  a  word,  the  others 
following  him  shamefacedly  at  a  little  distance.  One  of 
his  black  moods  is  upon  him,  Joseph  said  to  himself,  and 
gliding  in  among  the  crowd  he  questioned  the  nearest 
to  him,  who  happened  to  be  Judas,  who  told  him  that 
Jesus  didn't  know  for  certain  if  he  were  called  to  go  to  Jeru- 
salem for  the  Feast  of  the  Tabernacles.  The  Master  fore- 
sees his  death  in  Jerusalem,  but  he  is  not  sure  if  it  be  ordained 
for  this  year  or  the  next.  Peter  would  dissuade  him,  he 
added,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  wonderment  Joseph  heard 
from  Judas  that  Jesus  had  elected  his  apostles,  and  now 
Joseph  remembered  how,  speaking  out  of  his  heart,  he  ut- 
tered a  little  cry  and  said :  it  was  because  I  am  a  rich  man 
that  he  didn't  think  of  me.  But  Judas  answered  that  there 
might  be  another  reason,  to  which  he  replied  :  there  can  be 
no  other  reason  except  the  simple  one  —  I  wasn't  there 
and  he  didn't  think  of  me.  But  Judas  murmured  that 
there  might  be  another  reason  —  he  never  allows  a  disciple 
to  desert  him,  whatever  reason  may  be  for  so  doing.  But 
there  was  no  desertion  on  my  part.  My  father's  illness ! 
Wait  in  any  case,  Judas  had  said,  till  the  Master  has  fallen 
out  of  his  mood,  for  he  is  in  his  blackest  now ;  we  dare  not 
speak  to  him.  But  I  couldn't  believe  that  that  could  make  any 
difference,  Joseph  said  to  himself,  and  he  put  the  monkey  away 
from  him  somewhat  harshly,  and  fell  to  thinking  how  he 
ran  to  Jesus,  his  story  on  his  lips.  But  it  all  seemed  to 
drift  away  from  him  the  moment  he  looked   upon  Jesus, 


1 86  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

so  changed  was  he  from  the  Jesus  he  had  seen  in  the  cenoby, 
a  young  man  of  somewhat  stern  countenance  and  cold  and 
thin,  with  the  neck  erect,  walking  with  a  measured  gait, 
whose  eyes  were  cold  and  distant,  though  they  could  de- 
scend from  their  starry  heights  and  rest  for  a  moment  almost 
affectionately  on  the  face  of  a  mortal.  That  was  two  years 
ago.  And  the  Jesus  whom  he  met  in  rags  by  the  lake-side 
one  evening  and  journeyed  with  as  far  as  Caesarea  Philippi, 
to  Tyre  and  Sidon,  was  no  doubt  very  different  from  the 
severe  young  man  he  had  seen  in  the  monastery.  He  had 
grown  older,  more  careworn,  but  the  first  Jesus  still  lin- 
gered in  the  second,  whereas  the  Jesus  he  was  looking  at 
now  was  a  new  Jesus,  one  whom  he  had  seen  never  before ; 
the  cheeks  were  fallen  in  and  the  eyes  that  he  remembered 
soft  and  luminous  were  now  concentrated ;  a  sort  of  malig- 
nant hate  glowered  in  them  :  he  seemed  to  hate  all  he  looked 
upon ;  and  his  features  seemed  to  have  enlarged,  the  nose 
and  chin  were  more  prominent,  and  the  body  was  shrunken. 
A  sword  that  is  wearing  out  its  scabbard  was  the  thought 
that  passed  through  Joseph's  frightened  mind ;  and  fright- 
ened at  the  change  in  Jesus'  appearance,  and  still  more  by 
the  words  that  were  hurled  out  at  him,  intimidated  and 
trembling,  he  babbled  out :  my  father  lay  between  life  and 
death  for  eight  days  and  came  out  of  his  swoon  slowly.  He 
could  say  no  more,  the  rest  of  his  story  was  swallowed  up 
in  a  violent  interruption,  Jesus  telling  him  that  there  was 
no  place  among  his  followers  for  those  who  could  not  free 
themselves  from  such  ghosts  as  father,  mother,  and  children 
and  wife. 

Jesus  had  flung  his  father's  wealth  and  his  own  in  his 
face,  and  his  own  pitiful  understanding  that  had  not  been 
able  to  see  that  this  world  and  the  world  to  come  were 
not  one  thing  but  twain.  And  whosoever  chooses  this 
world  must  remain  satisfied  with  its  fleshly  indulgences 
and  its  cares  and  its  laws  and  responsibilities,  and  whosoever 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  187 

chooses  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  must  cast  this  world  far 
from  him,  must  pluck  it,  as  it  were,  out  of  his  heart  and 
throw  it  away,  bidding  it  depart ;  for  it  is  but  a  ghost. 
All  these,  he  said,  pointing  to  his  apostles,  have  cast  their 
ghosts  into  the  lake.  The  apostles  stood  with  eyes  fixed, 
for  they  did  not  understand  how  they  had  despoiled  them- 
selves of  their  ghosts,  and  only  Peter  ventured  into  words : 
all  my  family  is  in  the  lake.  Master;  and  at  his  simplicity 
Jesus  smiled,  then  as  if  to  compensate  him  for  his  faith  he 
said  :  I  shall  come  in  a  chariot  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of 
our  Father,  the  Judgment  Book  upon  my  lap.  As  the  rocks 
of  this  world  are  shaken  and  riven  by  earthquakes,  my  word 
shall  sunder  father  from  son,  brother  from  brother,  daughter 
from  mother;  the  ties  that  have  been  held  sacred  shall 
be  broken  and  all  the  things  looked  upon  as  eternal  shall 
pass  away  even  as  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem  shall  pass  away. 
My  words  shall  sunder  it  beam  by  beam,  pillar  by  pillar, 
and  every  stone  of  it  shall  be  scattered.  For  I  say  unto 
you  that  God  is  weary  of  the  fat  of  rams  and  goats,  and 
incense  delights  not  his  nostrils;  it  is  not  our  flocks  and 
herds  that  our  Father  desires  nor  the  sweet-smelling  herbs 
of  this  world,  but  a  temple  in  which  there  shall  be  nothing 
but  the  love  of  God.  It  is  for  the  building  of  this  temple 
that  I  have  been  called  hither;  and  not  with  hands  during 
laborious  years  will  it  be  built,  but  at  once,  for  the  temple 
that  I  speak  to  you  of,  is  in  the  heart  of  every  man ;  and 
woe,  woe,  woe,  I  say  unto  you  who  delay  to  build  this 
temple,  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  is  at  hand,  and 
when  the  last  day  of  this  world  begins  to  dawn  and  the  dead 
rise  up  seeking  their  cere-clothes  it  will  be  too  late.  Woe! 
woe!  woe!  unto  thee,  Chorazin,  Bethsaida  and  Magdala, 
for  you  have  not  repented  yet,  but  still  choose  the  ghosts 
that  haunt  the  sepulchres  out  of  which  ye  shall  be  called 
soon;  too  soon  for  many;  for  I  say  unto  you  that  it  is  not 
the  dead  that  sleep  but  the  living.     At  these  words  there 


1 88  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

were  murmurings  among  the  disciples,  and  they  said,  turn- 
ing from  one  to  the  other :  he  says  we  sleep,  brother,  but 
this  is  not  true.  He  mocks  at  us.  But  Jesus,  as  if  he  did 
not  hear  these  rebukers,  and  moved  as  if  by  a  sudden  sym- 
pathy for  Joseph,  said :  here  is  one  that  left  me  to  attend 
his  father's  sick-bed,  but  I  would  have  you  understand 
me  in  this,  that  if  we  would  love  God  we  must  abandon 
father,  mother,  wife  and  children,  for  there  is  not  room  in 
our  hearts  for  two  loves.  Ye  say  that  I  lay  heavy  burdens 
on  your  backs,  but  I  say  unto  you  that  I  lay  no  burdens  on 
your  backs  that  I  did  not  first  weigh  upon  my  own  shoul- 
ders; for  have  I  not  denied  myself  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  did  I  not  say  to  my  mother,  who  came  to  dissuade  me : 
God  chose  thee  as  a  vehicle  to  give  to  man  a  redeemer  to 
lead  him  out  of  this  kingdom  of  clay.  Thou  hast  done  it 
and  so  there  is  no  further  need  of  thee.  Out  of  this  cor- 
ruptible body  I  shall  rise  in  Jerusalem,  my  mission  accom- 
plished, into  the  incorruptible  spirit.  His  passion  rising 
again  and  into  flood,  he  seemed  like  one  bereft  of  reason, 
for  he  said  that  all  men  must  drink  of  his  blood  if  they  would 
live  for  ever.  He  who  licked  up  one  drop,  would  have  ever- 
lasting life.  Joseph  recalled  the  murmurings  that  followed 
these  words,  but  Jesus  would  not  desist.  These  murmurings 
seemed  to  sting  him  to  declare  his  doctrine  to  the  full,  and 
he  added  that  his  flesh,  too,  was  like  bread,  and  that  any 
crumb  would  give  to  him  who  ate  it  a  place  before  the  throne 
of  the  Almighty.  Whereupon  many  withdrew,  murmuring 
more  loudly  than  before,  saying  among  themselves :  who  is 
this  man  that  asks  us  to  assuage  our  thirst  with  his  blood 
and  our  hunger  with  his  flesh  .?  Moses  and  Elijah  did  not 
ask  such  things.  Who  is  he  that  says  he  will  scatter  the 
Temple  to  build  up  another  ? 

Many  other  animadversions  Joseph  remembered  among 
the  multitude,  and  he  recalled  them  one  by  one,  ponder- 
ing over  each  till  one  of  the  monkeys  sprang  into  his  arms 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  189 

and  snatched  some  flowers  out  of  his  hand  and  hobbled  away 
shrieking,  awaking  Dan,  who  had  been  dozing,  and  who, 
seeing  whence  the  shrieking  came,  closed  his  eyes  again. 
While  his  father  .  slept  Joseph  remembered  that  Peter, 
John  and  James  stood  by  the  Master  throughout  the  dissi- 
dence.  But  what  answer  will  they  give,  Joseph  asked 
himself,  when  they  are  questioned  as  to  what  the  Master 
meant  when  he  said  that  they  must  drink  his  blood  and 
eat  his  flesh  ?  What  answer  will  they  make  when  the  people 
question  them  in  the  diff^erent  countries  ?  —  for  they  are  to 
go  to  every  part  of  the  world,  carrying  the  joyful  tidings. 
It  seemed  to  Joseph  that  the  apostles  would  be  able  to 
make  plain  these  hard  sayings  even  less  well  than  he,  and 
he  could  not  make  plain  to  anybody  what  the  Master  had 
meant,  and  still  less  would  he  be  able  to  convince  others 
that  the  Master  had  said  well  that  a  man  must  leave  his 
father  though  he  were  dying.  He  said  that  he  should  leave 
his  father  unburied,  the  dead  not  needing  our  care,  for  they 
are  the  living  ones,  and  the  hyenas  and  crows  would  find  to 
eat  only  that  which  had  always  been  dead.  Of  course  if  the 
old  world  were  going  out  and  the  new  coming  in,  it  mat- 
tered very  little  what  happened  within  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours.  But  was  the  new  world  as  near  as  that  ?  He 
wondered !  It  might  be  nearer  still  without  his  being 
able  to  leave  his  father  to  die  among  strangers,  and  a  feel- 
ing rose  up  within  him  that  he  knew  he  would  never  be 
able  to  subdue  though  he  were  to  gain  an  eternity  of  happi- 
ness by  subduing  it;  and,  pursuing  this  thread  of  thought, 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  very  weak  creature, 
neither  sufficiently  enamoured  of  this  world  nor  of  the  next ; 
so  he  supposed  Jesus  was  right  to  discard  him,  for,  as  he 
knew  himself,  he  would  be  an  insufficient  apostle,  just  as 
he  was  an  insufficient  son.  But  his  father  did  not  think 
him  a  bad  son.  He  raised  his  eyes,  and,  finding  his  father's 
eyes  upon  him,  he  remembered  that  he  had  left  him  because 


I90  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

he  wished  to  see  the  world,  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  to  live  with 
the  Essenes,  to  go  to  Egypt ;  and  that  he  had  remained 
away  for  nearly  two  years,  and  had  returned  to  settle  a 
business  matter  between  himself  and  his  father.  Therefore  it 
was  not  love  of  his  father  but  a  business  matter  that  brought 
him  back  from  Egypt;  and  now  he  was  going  to  leave  his 
father  again,  though  he'knew  that  his  father  wished  him  to 
marry  some  lusty  girl,  who  would  bear  healthy  children. 

If  he  were  a  good  son  he  would  take  a  maid  to  bed.  But 
that  he  couldn't  do !  I  am  afraid,  he  said,  speaking  sud- 
denly out  of  his  thoughts,  I'm  not  the  son  you  deserve. 
Father.  I'm  not  a  bad  son,  but  I'm  not  the  son  God  should 
have  given  you.  Thou  shouldst  not  say  that,  Joseph, 
for  we  have  loved  each  other  dearly.  It  is  true  that  I 
hoped  to  see  little  children  about  me,  and  it  may  be  that 
hope  will  never  be  fulfilled,  which  is  sad  to  think  on.  I've 
never  seen  thee  over-busy  with  one  of  our  serving  girls,  nor 
caught  thee  near  her  bed,  and  the  family  will  end  with 
thee,  and  the  counting-house  will  end  with  me,  and  these 
things  will  happen  through  no  fault  of  mine  or  thine,  Joseph. 
Our  lives  are  not  planned  by  ourselves,  and  when  life  comes 
sweetly  to  a  man  a  bitter  death  awaits  him,  for  death  is 
bitter  to  those  that  have  lived  in  ease  and  health  as  I  have 
done.  I  am  still  obdurate,  for  I  can  sit  down  to  a  meal  with 
pleasure,  but  a  time  will  come  when  I  shall  not  be  able 
to  do  this,  and  then  the  sentence  that  the  Lord  pronounced 
over  all  flesh  will  seem  easy  to  bear,  and  the  grandchildren 
I  have  not  gotten  will  be  desired  no  longer;  only  the  peace 
of  the  grave,  where  there  is  no  questioning  nor  dainties. 
But,  Father,  this  world  is  but  the  shadow  of  a  reality  be- 
yond the  grave,  and  I  beseech  you  to  believe  in  your  eternity 
and  in  mine.  In  the  eternity  of  my  body  or  of  my  soul  — 
which,  Joseph  ^  Thou  knowest  not,  but  of  this  we  are  sure, 
that  there  is  little  time  left  for  me  to  love  thee  in  this  com- 
fortable land  of  Galilee.     And,  this  being  so,  I  will  ask  thee 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  191 

to  promise  me  that  thou  wilt  not  leave  Judea  in  my  life- 
time. Thou'lt  have  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  for  business  awaits 
thee  there,  and  to  Jericho,  perhaps,  which  is  a  long  way  from 
Galilee,  but  I'd  not  have  thee  leave  Judea  to  preach  a  strange 
creed  to  the  Gentiles.  I  know  no  reason  now.  Father,  for 
me  to  leave  Judea,  since  I  am  not  among  the  chosen.  If 
thou  hadst  been,  Joseph,  thou  wouldst  not  have  left  me  in 
these  last  years  of  my  life  ^  Jesus  is  dear  to  thee,  but  he 
isn't  thy  father,  and  every  father  would  like  his  son  to  be  by 
him  when  the  Lord  chooses  to  call  him.  I  would  have  thee 
within  a  day's  journey  or  two ;  death  comes  quicker  than 
that  sometimes,  but  we  must  risk  something.  I'd  have 
thee  remain  in  Judea  so  that  thou  mayest  come,  if  thou  art 
called,  to  receive  my  last  blessing.  I'd  have  thee  close 
my  eyes,  Joseph.  The  children  I'll  forgive  thee,  if  thou 
wilt  promise  me  this.  I  promise  it,  Father,  and  will  hold 
to  my  promise  if  I  live  beyond  thee.  If  thou  livest  beyond 
me,  Joseph  ?  Of  course  thou  wilt  live  many  years  after 
me.  But,  Joseph,  I  would  have  thee  shun  dangerous 
company.  And  guessing  that  his  father  had  Jesus  in  his 
mind,  Joseph  asked  him  if  it  were  so,  and  he  answered 
that  it  was  so,  saying  that  Jesus  was  no  new  thing  in  Judea, 
and  that  the  priests  and  the  prophets  have  ever  been  in 
strife.  That  is  my  meaning,  he  said.  The  exactions  of  the 
priests  weigh  heavily,  and  Jesus  is  right  in  this  much,  that 
priests  always  have  been,  and  perhaps  always  will  be, 
oppressors  of  the  poor;  they  are  strong,  and  have  many 
hirelings  about  them.  Thou  hast  heard  of  the  Zealots, 
son,  who  walk  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  their  hands  on 
their  knives,  following  those  who  speak  against  the  law 
and  the  traditions,  and  who,  when  they  meet  them,  put  their 
knives  into  their  ribs,  and  when  the  murdered  man  falls 
back  into  their  arms,  call  aloud  for  help  ?  So  do  the  priests 
free  themselves  from  their  opponents,  and,  my  good  son 
Joseph,  think  what  my  grief  would  be  if  I  were  to  receive 


192  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

tidings  that  thou  hadst  been  slain  in  the  streets.  Dost 
think  that  the  news  would  not  slay  me  as  quickly  as  any 
knife  ?  I  ask  little  of  thee,  Joseph,  the  children  I'll  forgo, 
but  do  thou  separate  thyself  from  these  sectaries  during  my 
lifetime.  Think  of  me  receiving  the  news  of  thy  death; 
an  old  man  living  alone  among  all  his  riches  without  hope 
of  any  inheritance  of  his  name.  But,  Joseph,  I  can't  put 
away  altogether  the  hope  that  the  day  will  come  when  thou'lt 
look  more  favourably  on  a  maid  than  now.  Thy  thoughts 
be  all  for  Jesus,  his  teaching,  and  his  return  to  this  world, 
sitting  by  the  side  of  his  Father  in  a  fiery  chariot,  but  may- 
be the  day  will  come  when  these  hopes  will  fade  away 
and  thy  eyes  will  rest  upon  a  maid.  It  is  strange  that 
thou   shouldst   be   so   unlike  me.     I   was  warmer-blooded 

at  thy  age,  and  when  I  saw  thy  mother Father,  the 

promise  is  given  to  thee  already,  and  my  hand  upon  it. 
I'll  not  see  Jesus  during  thy  life.  If  the  sudden  news  of 
my  death  were  to  kill  thee,  I  should  be  thy  murderer.  Jesus 
will  forgive  thee  these  few  years,  Dan  said.  The  expres- 
sion on  Joseph's  face  changed,  and  Dan  wondered  if  Jesus 
were  so  cruel,  so  hard,  and  so  self-centred  that  he  would 
not  grant  his  son  a  few  years,  if  he  were  to  ask  it,  so  that  he 
might  stay  by  his  father's  bedside  and  close  his  eyes  and 
bury  him.  It  seemed  from  Joseph's  face  that  Jesus  asked 
everything  from  his  disciples,  and  if  they  did  not  give 
everything  it  was  as  if  they  gave  nothing. 

And  while  Dan  was  thus  conferring  with  his  own  thoughts 
he  heard  Joseph  saying  that  if  he  were  to  keep  the  promise 
he  had  just  given,  not  to  see  Jesus  again,  he  must  not  re- 
main in  his  neighbourhood.  Yes,  that  is  so,  Joseph ;  go 
to  Jerusalem.  And  the  old  man  began  to  babble  of  the 
transport  of  figs  from  Jericho,  till  Joseph  could  not  do  else 
than  ponder  on  the  grip  of  habit  on  a  man's  heart,  and  ask 
himself  if  the  news  of  his  death  would  affect  his  father's 
health  more  than  the  news  that  there  was  no  further  demand 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  193 

in  Damascus  for  his  salt  fish.  He  repented  the  thought  as 
soon  as  it  had  passed  through  his  mind,  and  he  understood 
that,  however,  much  it  would  cost  him,  he  must  go  away 
to  Jerusalem.  He  dared  not  risk  the  accusation  that  would 
for  ever  echo  in  his  heart :  my  father  has  no  peace  by  day, 
nor  rest  at  night,  he  is  thinking  always  that  a  Zealot's  knife 

is   in   my    back.     But    after   my   father's   death His 

thoughts  brought  him  back  again  to  a  sudden  shame  of 
himself.  I  am  like  that,  he  said,  and  shall  always  be  as 
I  am.  And,  not  daring  to  think  of  himself  any  more,  he 
jumped  to  his  feet :  I  must  tell  my  servant  that  I  shall  start 
soon  after  daybreak. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

AND  on  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem  Joseph  stood  for  a  moment 
before  his  camel  thanking  the  beast  for  his  great,  rocking 
stride,  which  has  given  me,  he  said,  respite  from  thinking 
for  two  whole  days  and  part  of  two  nights.  But  I  cannot 
be  always  on  the  back  of  a  camel,  he  continued,  and  must 
now  rely  on  my  business  to  help  me  to  forget;  and  he 
strove  to  apply  his  mind  to  every  count  that  came  before 
him,  but  in  the  middle  of  every  one  his  thoughts  would 
fly  away  to  Galilee,  and  the  merchant  waiting  to  receive 
the  provisions  he  had  come  to  fetch  wondered  of  what 
the  young  man  was  thinking,  and  the  cause  of  the  melan- 
choly that  was  in  his  face. 

He  was  still  less  master  of  his  thoughts  when  he  sat 
alone,  his  ledger  before  him ;  and  finding  he  could  not 
add  up  the  figures,  he  would  abandon  himself  without 
restraint  to  his  grief;  and  very  often  it  was  so  deep  that 
when  the  clerk  opened  the  door  it  took  Joseph  some  moments 
to  remember  that  he  was  in  his  counting-house;  and  when 
the  clerk  spoke  of  the  camel-drivers  that  were  waiting  in 
the  yard  behind  the  counting-house  for  orders,  it  was  only 
by  an  effort  of  will  that  he  collected  his  thoughts  suflftciently 
to  realise  that  the  yard  was  still  there,  and  that  a  caravan 
was  waiting  for  orders  to  return  to  Jericho.  The  orders 
were  forgotten  on  the  way  to  the  yard,  and  the  clerk  had  to 
remind  him,  and  sometimes  to  say :  Master,  if  you'll  allow 
me,  I  will  settle  this  business  for  you. 

Joseph  wa§  glad  of  his  clerk's  help,  and  he  returned  to 
the  ledger,  and,  staring  at  figures  which  he  did  not  see, 

194 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  195 

he  sat  thinking  of  Jesus,  of  the  night  they  walked  by  the 
lake's  edge,  of  the  day  spent  in  the  woods  above  Caper- 
naum, and  the  various  towns  of  Syria  that  they  visited. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  the  good  days  had  gone  over  for  ever, 
and  it  was  but  a  sad  pleasure  to  remember  the  pagans  that 
liked  Jesus'  miracles  without  being  able  to  abandon  their 
own  gods.  Only  Peter  could  bring  a  smile  into  his  face ; 
a  smile  wandered  round  his  lips,  for  it  was  impossible  to 
think  of  Peter  and  not  to  smile.  But  the  smile  faded 
quickly  and  the  old  pain  gripped  his  heart. 

I  have  lost  Jesus  for  ever,  he  said,  and  at  that  moment 
a  sudden  rap  at  his  door  awoke  him  from  his  reveries.  He 
was  angry  with  his  clerk,  but  he  tried  to  disguise  his  anger, 
for  he  was  conscious  that  he  must  present  a  very  ridiculous 
appearance  to  his  clerk,  unless,  indeed,  which  was  quite 
likely,  his  clerk  was  indifferent  to  anything  but  the  business 
of  the  counting-house.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he  was  an  old 
and  confidential  servant  who  made  no  comments  and  asked 
no  questions.  Joseph  was  grateful  to  his  clerk  for  his 
assumed  ignorance  and  an  hour  later  Joseph  bade  him  good- 
night. I  shall  see  thee  in  the  morning,  to  which  Samuel 
answered:  yes,  sir;  and  Joseph  was  left  alone  in  the  crowded 
street  of  Jerusalem,  staring  at  the  passengers  as  they  went, 
wondering  if  they  were  realities,  everyone  compelled  by  a 
business  or  a  desire,  or  merely  shadows,  figments  of  his 
imagination  and  himself  no  more  than  a  shadow,  a  some- 
thing that  moved  and  that  must  move  across  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat  and  up  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Why  that  way 
more  than  any  other  way?  he  asked  himself:  because  it  is 
the  shortest  way.  As  if  that  mattered,  he  added,  and  as 
soon  as  he  reached  the  top  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  he  looked 
over  the  desert  and  was  surprised  by  the  smallness  of  the 
hills ;  like  the  people  who  lived  among  them,  they  seemed 
to  him  to  have  dwindled.  The  world  is  much  smaller  than 
I  thought,  he  said.     That  is  it,  the  world  seems  to  have 


196  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

dwindled  into  a  sort  of  ash-heap ;  life  has  become  as  taste- 
less as  ashes.  It  can  only  end,  he  said  to  himself,  by  my 
discovering  something  that  interests  me,  but  nothing  interests 
me  except  Jesus.  Lack  of  desire,  he  said,  is  my  burden,  for, 
desiring  one  thing  too  much,  I  have  lost  desire  for  all  else, 
and  that  is  why  life  comes  to  me  like  an  ash-heap. 

As  the  days  went  by  he  began  to  feel  life  more  oppressive 
and  unendurable,  till  one  evening  the  thought  crossed 
his  mind  that  change  of  scene  might  be  a  great  benefit 
to  him.  If  he  were  to  go  to  Egypt,  he  would  journey  for 
fifteen  days  through  the  desert,  the  rocking  stride  of  the 
camel  would  keep  him  from  thinking,  and  he  might  arrive 
in  Egypt  eager  to  listen  to  the  philosophers  again.  But 
the  temptations  that  Egypt  presented  faded  almost  as  soon 
as  they  had  arisen,  and  he  deemed  that  it  might  be  better 
for  him  to  choose  a  city  oversea.  A  sea  voyage  will  cheer 
me  more  than  a  long  journey  across  the  desert,  and  Joppa  is 
but  a  day's  journey  from  Jerusalem,  he  thought.  But 
the  shipping  is  more  frequent  from  Caesarea,  and  it  is  not  as 
far;  and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  would  like 
to  be  on  board  a  ship  watching  the  wind  making  the  sail 
beautiful.  But  to  what  port  should  he  be  making  for,  he 
asked.  Why  not  to  Greece  ?  —  for  there  are  philosophers 
as  great  or  greater  than  those  of  Alexandria.  But  phi- 
losophers are  out  of  my  humour,  he  added,  and,  putting 
Athens  aside,  he  bethought  himself  of  Corinth,  and  the 
variegated  world  he  would  meet  there.  From  every  port 
ships  come  to  Corinth,  bringing  different  habits,  customs, 
languages,  religions ;  and  for  the  better  part  of  the  evening 
Corinlh  seemed  to  be  his  destination. 

Corinth  was  famous  for  its  courtesans,  and  he  remembered 
suddenly  that  the  most  celebrated  were  collected  there ;  and 
it  may  have  been  the  courtesans  that  kept  him  from  this 
journey,  and  his  thoughts  turning  from  vice  to  marriage  a 
bitterness  rose  up  in  his  mind  against  his  father  for  the 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  197 

persistency  with  which  Dan  reminded  him  in  and  out  of 
season  that  every  man's  duty  is  to  bring  children  into  the 
world. 

It  had  seemed  to  him  that  in  asking  him  to  take  a  wife 
to  his  discomfort  his  father  was  asking  him  too  much,  and 
he  had  put  the  question  aside;  but  he  was  now  without 
will  to  resist  any  memory  that  might  befall  him,  and  for  the 
first  time  he  allowed  his  thoughts  to  dwell  on  his  father's 
implied  regret  that  he  had  never  caught  his  son  near  a 
servant  girl's  bed.  His  unwillingness  to  impugn  liis  father's 
opinions  kept  him  heretofore  from  pondering  on  his  words, 
but  feeling  his  life  to  be  now  broken  and  cast  away,  there 
seemed  to  arise  some  reasons  for  an  examination  of  his 
father's  words.  They  could  not  mean  anything  else  than 
that  a  young  man  was  following  the  natural  instincts  if  he 
lingered  about  a  young  girl's  room ;  and  that  to  be  without 
this  instinct  was  almost  a  worse  misfortune  than  to  be  pos- 
sessed by  it  to  the  practical  exclusion  of  other  interests. 

His  father,  it  is  true,  may  have  argued  the  matter  out  with 
himself  somewhat  in  this  fashion  :  that  love  of  women  in  a 
man  may  be  controlled ;  and  looking  back  into  his  own  life 
he  may  have  found  this  view  confirmed.  Joseph  remembered 
that  his  grandmother  often  spoke  to  him  of  Dan's  great  love 
of  his  wife,  and  it  might  be  that  he  had  never  loved  another 
woman ;  few  men,  however,  were  as  fortunate  as  his  father, 
and  Joseph  could  not  help  thinking  that  it  were  better  to 
put  women  out  of  his  mind  altogether  than  to  become  in- 
flamed by  the  sight  of  every  woman.  He  believed  that  was 
why  he  had  always  kept  all  thoughts  of  women  out  of  his 
mind  ;  but  it  seemed  to  him  now  that  a  wife  would  break  the 
monotony  that  he  saw  in  front  of  him,  and  were  he  to  meet 
a  woman  such  as  his  father  seems  to  have  met  he  might  take 
her  to  live  with  him.  He  thought  of  himself  as  her  husband, 
though  he  was  by  no  means  sure  that  married  life  was  a 
possible  makeshift  for  the  life  he  sought  and  was  obliged  to 


198  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

forgo,  but  as  life  seemed  an  obligation  from  which  he  could  not 
reasonably  escape  he  thought  he  would  like  to  share  it  with 
some  woman  who  would  give  him  children.  His  father 
desired  grandchildren,  and  since  he  had  partly  sacrificed  his 
Hfe  for  his  father's  sake,  he  might,  it  seemed  to  him,  sacrifice 
himself  wholly.  But  could  he  ?  That  did  not  depend  alto- 
gether on  himself,  and  with  the  view  to  discovering  the  turn 
of  his  sex  instinct  he  called  to  mind  all  the  women  he  had 
seen,  asking  himself  as  each  rose  up  before  him  if  he  could 
marry  her.  There  were  some  that  seemed  nearer  to  his 
desire  then  others,  and  it  was  with  the  view  to  honourable 
marriage  that  he  called  upon  his  friends,  and  his  father's 
friends,  and  passed  his  eyes  over  all  their  daughters;  but 
the  girl  whose  image  had  lingered  more  pleasantly  than 
any  other  in  his  memory  had  married  lately,  and  all  the 
others  inspired  only  a  physical  aversion  which  he  felt  none 
would  succeed  in  overcoming.  He  had  seen  some  Greek 
women,  and  been  attracted  in  a  way,  for  they  were  not  too 
like  their  sex ;  but  these  Jewish  women  —  the  women  of 
his  race  —  seemed  to  him  as  gross  in  their  minds  as  in  their 
bodies,  and  it  surprised  him  to  find  that  though  many  men 
seemed  to  think  as  he  did  about  these  women,  they  were 
not  repelled  as  he  was,  but  accepted  them  willingly,  even 
greedily,  as  instruments  of  pleasure  and  afterwards  as 
mothers  of  children.  But  I  am  not  as  these  men  are,  he 
said ;  my  father  must  bear  his  sorrow  like  another ;  and  in 
meditation  it  seemed  to  him  that  it  would  not  be  reasonable 
that  his  father  should  get  everything  he  desired  and  his  son 
nothing. 

His  father  had  gotten  more  out  of  life  than  ever  he  should 
get;  he  would  have  his  son  till  he  died  (so  far  as  he  could 
he  would  secure  him  that  satisfaction),  and  after  death  this 
world  and  its  shows  concern  us  not.  But  it  may  well  be 
that  we  die  out  of  one  life  to  be  born  into  another  life,  that 
everything  that  passes  is  replaced  by  an  equivalent,  he  said, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  199 

repeating  the  words  of  a  Greek  philosopher  to  whom  he  had 
been  much  addicted  in  happy  days  gone  by,  and  that  reality 
is  but  an  eternal  shaping  and  reshaping  of  things.  All  that 
is  beyond  doubt,  he  continued,  is  that  things  pass  too  quickly 
for  us  to  have  any  certain  knowledge  of  them,  our  only 
standard  being  our  own  flitting  impressions ;  and  as  all  men 
bring  a  different  sensitiveness  into  the  world,  knowledge  is 
a  word  without  meaning,  for  there  can  be  no  knowledge. 
Every  race  is  possessed  of  a  different  sensitiveness,  he  said, 
as  he  passed  up  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  his  way  home.  We 
ask  for  miracles,  but  the  Greeks  are  satisfied  with  reason. 
Am  I  Greek  or  Jew  ?  he  asked,  for  he  was  looking  forward 
to  some  silent  hours  with  a  book  of  Greek  philosophy  and 
hoped  to  forget  himself  in  the  manuscript.  But  he  could 
not  always  keep  his  thoughts  on  the  manuscript,  and,  for- 
getful of  Heraclitus,  he  often  sat  thinking  of  Jesus'  promise 
—  that  one  morning  men  would  awake  to  find  that  God  had 
come  to  judge  the  world  and  divide  it  among  those  that 
repented  their  sins.  He  remembered  he  had  forfeited  his 
share  in  the  Kingdom  for  his  father's  sake,  or  had  he  been 
driven  out  of  the  community  because  his  belief  in  the  coming 
of  the  Kingdom  was  insufficient  ?  It  is  true  that  his  belief 
had  wavered,  but  he  had  always  believed.  Even  his  natural 
humility,  of  which  he  was  conscious,  did  not  allow  him  to 
doubt  that  his  belief  in  Jesus  was  as  fervid  as  that  of  Peter, 
James,  John  and  the  residue.  The  conviction  was  always 
quick  in  him  that  he  felt  more  deeply  than  these  publicans 
and  fishers,  yet  Jesus  retained  them  and  sent  him  away. 

The  manuscript  glided  from  his  hand  to  the  floor,  and 
his  thoughts  wandered  back  to  Alexandria,  and  he  sat  think- 
ing that  death  must  be  rather  the  beginning  than  the  end 
of  things,  for  it  were  impossible  to  believe  that  life  was  an 
end  in  itself.  Heraclitus  was  right :  his  present  life  could 
be  nothing  else  but  the  death  of  another  life.  And  as  if 
to  enforce  this  doctrine  a  recollection  of  his  grandmother 


200  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

intruded  upon  his  meditation.  She  was  seventy-eight  when 
she  died,  and  her  intellect  must  have  faded  some  months 
before,  but  with  her  passing  one  of  the  servants  told  him 
that  a  curious  expression  came  into  her  face  —  a  sort  of 
mocking  expression,  as  if  she  had  learnt  the  truth  at  last 
and  was  laughing  at  the  dupes  she  left  behind.  She  lay  in 
a  grave  in  Galilee,  under  some  pleasant  trees,  and  while 
thinking  of  her  grave  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  would  not 
like  to  be  put  into  the  earth ;  his  fancy  favoured  a  tomb  cut 
out  of  the  rocks  in  Mount  Scropas,  for  there,  he  said  to 
himself,  I  shall  be  far  from  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and 
going  out  on  the  terrace  he  stood  under  the  cedars  and 
watched  for  an  hour  the  outlines  of  the  humped  hills  that 
God  had  driven  in  endless  disorder,  like  herds  of  cattle,  all 
the  way  to  Jericho,  thinking  all  the  while  that  it  would  be 
pleasant  to  lie  out  of  hearing  of  all  the  silly  hurly-burly  that 
we  call  life.  But  the  hurly-burly  would  not  be  silly  if 
Jesus  were  by  him,  and  he  asked  himself  if  Jesus  was  an 
illusion  like  all  the  rest,  and  as  soon  as  the  pain  the  question 
provoked  had  died  away,  his  desire  of  a  tomb  took  posses- 
sion of  him  again,  and  it  left  him  no  peace,  but  led  him  out 
of  the  house  every  evening,  up  a  zigzagging  path  along  the 
hillside  till  he  came  to  some  rocks  over  against  the  desert. 
I  shall  lie  in  quiet  here  till  he  calls  me,  on  a  couch  embedded 

in  the  wall  and  surmounted  by  an  arch but  if  he  should 

prefer  me  to  rise  out  of  an  humble  grave  ?  That  I  may  not 
know,  only  that  the  poorest  is  not  as  unhappy  as  I,  so  I 
may  as  well  have  a  tomb  to  my  liking. 

It  was  a  long  time  since  he  had  come  to  a  resolve,  and 
having  come  to  one  at  last,  he  was  happier.  And  in  more 
cheerful  mood  he  decided  that  now  that  the  site  was  settled 
it  would  be  well  to  seek  information  as  to  which  were  the 
best  workmen  to  employ  on  the  job. 

But  for  him  whose  thoughts  run  on  death  nothing  is 
harder  to  settle  than  where  his  bones  shall  lie;  and  next 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  201 

time  he  visited  the  hillside  Joseph  came  upon  rocks  facing 
eastward,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  rays  of  the  rising 
sun  should  fall  on  his  sepulchre;  but  a  few  days  later,  com- 
ing out  of  his  house  in  great  disquiet,  it  seemed  to  him  he 
would  lie  happy  if  his  tomb  were  visited  every  evening  by 
the  peaceful  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  and  he  asked  himself 
how  many  years  of  life  he  would  have  to  drag  through  be- 
fore God  released  him  from  his  prison.  If  he  wished  to  die 
he  could,  for  our  lives  are  in  our  own  hands.  But  he  did 
not  know  that  he  cared  to  die  and,  overpowered  with  grief, 
he  abandoned  himself  to  metaphysical  speculation,  asking 
himself  again  if  it  were  not  true  that  to  be  born  into  this 
world  meant  to  pass  out  of  one  life  into  another;  therefore, 
if  so,  to  die  in  this  world  only  meant  to  pass  into  another, 
a  life  unknown  to  us,  for  all  is  unknown.  Nothing  being 
fixed  or  permanent.  We  cannot  bathe  twice  in  the  same 
river,  so  Heraclitus  said,  but  we  cannot  bathe  even  once  in 
the  same  river,  he  added  ;  and  to  carry  the  Master's  thought 
a  stage  further  was  a  pleasure,  if  any  moment  of  his  present 
life  could  be  called  pleasurable.  He  heard  these  sayings 
first  in  Alexandria,  and,  looking  towards  Jerusalem,  he  tried 
to  recall  the  exact  words  of  the  sage  regarding  the  futility 
of  sacrifice.  Our  priests  try,  said  Heraclitus,  to  purify 
themselves  with  blood  and  we  admire  them,  but  if  a  filthy 
man  were  to  roll  himself  in  the  mud  in  the  hope  of  cleaning 
himself  we  should  think  he  was  mad.  In  some  such  wise 
Heraclitus  spoke,  but  it  seemed  to  Joseph  he  had  lost  some- 
thing of  the  spirit  of  the  saying  in  too  profuse  wording  of  it. 
As  he  sought  for  the  original  epitome  he  heard  his  name 
called,  and  awaking  from  his  recollections  of  Alexandria  he 
looked  up  and  saw  before  him  a  young  man  whom  he  re- 
membered having  seen  at  the  Sanhedrin.  Nicodemus  was 
his  name;  and  he  remembered  how  the  fellow  had  kept  his 
eyes  on  him  for  one  whole  evening,  trying  at  various  times 
to  engage  him  in  talk;  an   insistent   fellow  who,   despite 


202  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

rebuffs,  had  followed  him  into  the  street  after  the  meeting, 
and,  refusing  to  be  shaken  off,  had  led  the  way  so  skilfully 
that  Joseph  found  himself  at  last  on  Nicodemus'  doorstep 
and  with  no  option  but  to  accept  Nicodemus'  invitation  to 
enter.  He  did  not  like  the  fellow,  but  not  on  account  of  his 
insistence;  it  was  not  his  insistence  that  had  prejudiced  him 
against  him  as  much  as  the  young  man's  elaboration  of 
raiment,  his  hairdressing  above  all ;  he  wore  curls  on  either 
side  that  must  have  taken  his  barber  a  long  while  to  pre- 
pare, and  he  exhaled  scents.  He  wore  bracelets,  and  from 
his  appearance  Joseph  had  not  been  able  to  refrain  from  im- 
agining lascivious  pictures  on  the  walls  of  his  house  and 
statues  in  the  corners  of  the  rooms  —  in  a  word,  he  thought 
he  had  been  persuaded  to  enter  an  ultra-Greek  house. 

In  this  he  was,  however,  mistaken,  and  in  the  hour  they 
spent  together  his  host's  thoughts  were  much  less  occupied 
than  Joseph  expected  them  to  be  with  the  jewels  on  his 
neck  and  his  wrists,  and  the  rich  tassels  on  his  sash.  He 
talked  of  many  things,  but  his  real  thoughts  were  upon 
arms;  and  he  showed  Joseph  scimitars  and  daggers.  De- 
spite a  long  discussion  of  the  steel  of  Damascus,  Joseph 
could  not  bring  himself  to  believe  that  Nicodemus'  interests 
in  heroic  warfare  were  more  than  intellectual  caprice :  and 
he  regarded  as  entirely  superficial  Nicodemus'  attacks  on 
the  present-day  Jews,  whose  sloth  and  indolence  he  reproved, 
saying  that  they  had  left  the  heroic  spirit  brought  out  of 
Arabia  with  their  language,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates. 
One  hero,  he  admitted,  they  had  produced  in  modern  times 
(Judas  Maccabeus),  and  Joseph  heard  for  the  first  time  that 
this  great  man  always  had  addressed  his  soldiers  in  Hebrew. 
All  the  same  he  did  not  believe  that  Nicodemus  was  serious 
in  his  passionate  demands  for  the  Hebrew  language,  which 
had  not  been  spoken  since  the  Jews  emerged  from  the  pas- 
toral stage.  We  should  do  well,  Nicodemus  said,  to  engage 
others  to  look  to  our  flocks  and  herds,  so  that  we  may  have 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  203 

leisure  to  ponder  the  texts  of  the  Talmud,  nor  do  I  hesitate  to 
condemn  my  own  class,  the  Sadducees,  as  the  least  worthy 
of  all ;  for  we  look  upon  the  Temple  as  a  means  of  wealth, 
despising  the  poor  people,  who  pay  their  half-shekel  and 
bring  their  rams  and  their  goats  and  bullocks  hither. 

•  He  could  talk  for  a  long  time  in  this  way,  his  eyes  abstracted 
from  Joseph,  fixed  on  the  darkness  of  the  room.  While  listen- 
ing to  him  Joseph  had  often  asked  himself  if  there  were  a  real 
inspiration  behind  that  lean  face,  carven  like  a  marble,  with 
prominent  nose  and  fading  chin,  or  if  he  were  a  mere  buffoon. 

He  succeeded  in  provoking  a  casual  curiosity  in  Joseph, 
but  he  had  not  infected  Joseph  with  any  desire  of  his  ac- 
quaintance; his  visits  to  the  counting-house  had  not  been 
returned.  Yet  this  meeting  on  the  hillside  was  not  alto- 
gether unwelcome,  and  Joseph,  to  his  surprise,  surveyed 
the  young  man's  ringlets  and  bracelets  with  consideration ; 
he  admired  his  many  weapons,  and  listened  to  him  with 
interest.  He  talked  well,  telling  that  the  sword  that  hung 
from  his  thigh  was  from  Damascus  and  recommending  a 
merchant  to  Joseph  who  could  be  trusted  to  discover  as  fine 
a  one  for  him.  It  was  not  wise  to  go  about  this  lonely  hill- 
side unarmed,  and  Joseph  was  moved  to  ask  him  to  draw 
the  sword  from  its  scabbard,  which  Nicodemus  was  only 
too  glad  to  do,  calling  Joseph's  attention  to  the  beautiful 
engraving  on  the  blade,  and  to  the  hilt  studded  with  jewels. 
He  drew  a  dagger  from  his  jacket,  a  hardly  less  costly  weapon, 
and  Joseph  was  too  abashed  to  speak  of  his  buckler  on  his 
left  arm  and  the  spear  that  he  held  in  his  right  hand.  But, 
nothing  loath,  Nicodemus  bubbled  into  explanation.  It 
was  part  of  his  project  to  remind  his  fellow-countrymen 
that  they  too  must  arm  themselves  if  they  ever  wished  to 
throw  off  the  Roman  yoke. 

So  long  as  the  Romans  substitute  a  Hebrew  word  or  letter 
for  the  head  of  Tiberius  on  the  coin  we  pay  the  tribute 
willingly,  he  said  as  they  followed  the  crooked  path  through 


204  THE  BRCX)K  KERITH 

the  rocks  up  the  hillside  towards  Joseph's  house.  And  in 
reply  to  Joseph,  who  asked  him  if  he  believed  in  the  coming 
end  of  the  world,  he  answered  that  he  did,  but  he  inter- 
preted the  coming  end  of  the  world  to  mean  the  freeing  of 
the  people  of  Israel  from  the  Roman  yoke,  astonishing 
Joseph  by  the  vigour  of  his  reply;  for  Joseph  was  not  yet 
sure  which  was  the  truer  part  of  this  young  man,  the  ringlets 
and  the  bracelets  or  the  shield  and  the  spear. 

He  was  partial  to  long  silences;  and  the  next  of  these 
was  so  long  that  Joseph  had  begun  to  wonder,  but  when  they 
reached  the  crest  of  the  hill  he  burst  into  speech  like  a  bird 
into  song,  asking  what  was  happening  in  Galilee,  avouching 
much  interest  in  Jesus,  whom  he  had  heard  of,  but  had  never 
seen.  Joseph,  guessing  that  it  was  to  obtain  news  of  Jesus 
that  Nicodemus  sought  him  on  the  hillside,  told  him  that  he 
had  not  spoken  of  Jesus  for  many  weeks,  and  found  a  sudden 
relief  in  relating  all  he  knew  about  him  :  how  Jesus  said  that 
father,  mother,  brother  and  sister  must  be  abandoned. 
Yes,  he  had  said,  we  must  look  upon  all  sacrifice  as  naught 
if  we  would  obtain  our  ancient  kingdom  and  language.  But 
the  Essenes  have  never  spoken  like  that,  Nicodemus  urged : 
he  is  not  an  Essene,  nor  Moses,  nor  Elijah,  nor  Jeremiah.  He 
is  none  of  these :  he  is  Judas  Maccabeus  come  to  life  again  : 
and  henceforth  I  shall  look  upon  myself  as  his  disciple. 

He  spoke  so  loudly  that  any  passer-by  might  have  caught 
up  his  words ;  and  there  was  danger  from  Joseph's  servants, 
for  they  were  now  standing  by  his  gate.  He  looked  round 
uneasily,  and  as  Nicodemus  showed  no  signs  of  taking  leave 
of  him,  he  thought  it  would  be  more  prudent  to  ask  him  into 
the  house,  warning  him,  however,  that  he  had  no  beautiful 
things  to  show  him  in  the  way  of  engraved  weapons,  swords 
from  Damascus  or  daggers  from  Circassia.  It  was  not, 
however,  to  see  beautiful  weapons  that  Nicodemus  inclined ; 
only  so  far  as  they  related  to  Jesus  was  he  interested  in  arms; 
and  he  besought  Joseph  to  tell  him  more  of  Jesus,  whom  he 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  205 

seemed  to  have  already  accepted  as  the  leader  of  a  revolt 
against  the  Romans.  But  Joseph,  who  had  begun  to  fear 
the  young  man,  protested  that  Jesus'  Kingdom  was  not  of 
this  earth,  thinking  thereby  to  discredit  Jesus  in  Nicodemus' 
eyes.  Nicodemus  was  not  to  be  put  off  so  easily :  the  Jews 
spoke  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  so  that  they  might  gain  the 
kingdom  of  earth.  A  method  not  very  remarkable  for  its 
success,  Joseph  interposed.  The  Romans  do  otherwise, 
never  thinking  about  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  only  of 
riches  and  vainglory,  whereas  Jesus,  he  said,  says  it  is  as 
hard  for  the  rich  man  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  as 
it  would  be  for  a  sword  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle. 
A  sword  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  Nicodemus  repeated, 
walking  up  and  down  the  floor,  stamping  his  lance  as  he  went. 
He  is  the  leader  we  have  been  waiting  for.  But  it  is  not 
always  thus  that  he  speaks,  Joseph  interposed,  I  have  heard 
him  say  myself:  it  is  as  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  heaven 
as  it  would  be  for  a  cow  to  calve  in  a  rook's  nest.  As  he 
went  to  and  fro  Nicodemus  muttered :  there  is  much  to 
be  said  for  this  revision  of  his  words.  Jesus  wishes  to  reach 
the  imagination  of  the  poor  that  know  not  swords.  And 
he  spoke  for  a  long  time  of  the  indolence  of  the  rich,  of  their 
gross  pleasures  and  sensual  indulgences.  But  we  must  give 
them  swords,  he  added  under  his  breath,  as  if  he  were  speak- 
ing for  himself  alone  and  did  not  wish  Joseph  to  hear,  and 
then,  awaking  from  his  reverie,  he  turned  to  his  host : 
tell  me  more  of  this  remarkable  man.  And  Joseph,  who  was 
now  a  little  amused  at  his  guest's  extravagances,  asked  him 
if  he  knew  the  answer  he  had  given  to  Antipas,  who  had  in- 
vited him  to  his  court  in  Tiberias  in  consequence  of  the  re- 
nown of  his  miracles.  Wishing  to  witness  some  exhibition 
of  his  skill,  Antipas  seated  himself  in  imperial  fashion  on  his 
highest  throne,  and,  drawing  his  finest  embroideries  about 
him,  asked  Jesus  if  he  had  seen  anybody  attired  so  beauti- 
fully before,  to  which  Jesus,  who  stood  between  two  soldiers, 


2o6  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

a  beggar  in  rags,  before  the  king,  replied :  I  have  indeed ; 
pheasants  and  peacocks,  for  nature  apparelled  them.  Neither 
Moses  nor  Elijah  nor  Jeremiah,  Nicodemus  declared,  could 
have  invented  a  reply  more  apt.  He  asked  Joseph  if  any 
further  doubt  lingered  in  his  mind  that  Jesus  was  the  prophet 
promised  to  the  Jews.  How  I  envy  thy  intercourse  with 
him,  he  cried.  How  I  envy  thee,  for  thou  art  the  friend  of 
him  that  will  overthrow  the  Romans. 

Overthrow  the  Romans !  Joseph  repeated  to  himself, 
and  as  soon  as  his  guest  had  left  his  house  he  was  brought 
to  a  presentiment  of  the  danger  he  incurred  in  allowing 
this  man  to  come  to  his  house :  a  young  man  who  walked 
about  extravagantly  armed  would,  sooner  or  later,  find  him- 
self haled  before  Pilate.  Joseph  felt  that  it  would  be  better 
to  refuse  to  see  him  if  he  called  at  the  counting-house : 
an  excuse  could  be  found  easily :  his  foreman  might  say : 
Master  is  away  in  Jericho.  But  when  Nicodemus  called 
a  few  weeks  afterwards  Joseph  was  constrained  to  tell  his 
foreman  to  tell  Nicodemus  that  he  would  see  him.  The 
truth  was,  Joseph  was  glad  of  an  interruption,  for  his 
business  was  boring  him  more  than  it  did  usually,  but  he 
liked  to  pretend  to  himself  that  he  could  not  escape  from 
Nicodemus. 

A  new  opinion  of  Nicodemus  began  to  shape  itself  in  his 
mind  when  Nicodemus  said  that  many  and  many  a  year 
will  have  to  pass  before  that  can  be  done  with  success,  and 
the  Roman  rule  is  so  light  that  the  people  feel  it  not. 
It  saves  us  from  quarrels  among  ourselves,  and  who  have 
quarrelled  as  bitterly  as  we  have  done  ?  Joseph's  heart 
softened  at  this  appreciation  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  they 
began  to  talk  in  sympathy  for  the  first  time,  and  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  find  themselves  in  this  agreement,  that  before 
the  Jews  could  conquer  the  Romans  they  would  have  to 
conquer  themselves.  He  is  more  cautious  than  I  thought 
for,  Joseph  muttered  as  he  returned  to  his  camel-drivers. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  207 

for  his  guest  had  departed  suddenly  without  giving  any 
reason  for  his  visitation.  A  spy  he  cannot  be,  Joseph  said 
to  himself.  I  stand  too  well  with  Pilate  to  be  suspected  of 
schemes  of  mutiny.  But  he  will  soon  come  under  the  notice 
of  Pilate;  and  Joseph  was  not  surprised  when  Pilate  asked 
him  if  he  knew  an  extravagantly  dressed  young  man,  Nico- 
demus  by  name.  Joseph  replied  that  he  did,  giving  Pilate 
to  understand  that  Nicodemus  was  no  more  than  one  of  the 
many  eccentrics  to  be  found  in  every  city,  with  a  taste  for 
beauty  of  engraved  swords,  and  little  for  the  use  of  these 
weapons ;  and  Pilate,  who  seemed  to  be  of  the  same  opinion 
himself,  suddenly  asked  him  if  he  had  ever  met  in  Galilee 
one  named  Jesus.  Jesus  from  Nazareth,  Pilate  said ;  and 
Joseph  watched  the  tall,  handsome,  pompous  Roman,  one 
of  those  intelligently  stupid  men  of  which  there  are  so  many 
about.  He  arrived,  Pilate  continued,  in  Jerusalem  yester- 
day with  a  number  of  Galileans,  all  talking  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, and  news  has  just  reached  me  that  he  had  been  preach- 
ing in  the  Temple,  creating  some  disturbance,  which  will, 
I  hope,  not  be  repeated,  for  disturbances  in  the  Temple  lead 
to  disturbances  in  the  streets.  Does  your  father  know  this 
new  prophet .?  As  Joseph  was  about  to  answer  one  of  Pilate's 
apparitors  entered  suddenly  with  papers  that  demanded 
the  procurator's  attention.  We  will  talk  over  this  on  another 
occasion,  Pilate  said  as  he  bent  over  the  papers,  and  Joseph 
went  out  muttering:  so  he  has  come,  so  he  has  come  to 
Jerusalem  at  last. 

At  any  moment  he  might  meet  Jesus,  and  to  stop  to  speak 
to  him  in  the  street  would,  in  a  sense,  involve  a  profanation 
of  his  oath  to  his  father;  and  he  knew  he  could  not  turn 
aside  from  Jesus.  He  must  therefore  refrain  from  going  up 
to  Jerusalem  and  transact  his  business  from  his  house  by 
means  of  messengers.  But  if  Pilate  were  to  send  for  him  ? 
We  cannot  altogether  avoid  risk,  he  said  to  himself.  I  can 
do  no  more  than  remain  within  doors. 


2o8  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

It  was  not  many  days  afterwards  that  one  of  his  servants 
came  suddenly  into  the  room.  Nicodemus,  sir,  is  waiting 
in  the  hall  and  would  see  you,  though  I  told  him  you  were 
engaged  with  business.  He  says  the  matter  on  which  he 
is  come  to  speak  to  you  is  important.  Well,  then,  let  me 
see  him,  Joseph  answered. 

Now,  what  has  happened  ?  he  asked.  Has  he  said  any- 
thing that  the  Sanhedrin  will  be  able  to  punish  him  for  ? 
He  threw  some  more  olive  roots  on  the  fire  and  told  the 
servant  to  bring  a  lamp.  A  lamp,  he  said,  will  be  welcome, 
for  this  grey  dusk  is  disheartening. 

The  weather  is  cold,  so  draw  your  chair  near  to  the  fire. 
I  am  glad  to  see  you.  The  men  waited  for  the  servant  to 
leave  the  room.  We  shall  be  more  comfortable  when  the 
curtains  are  drawn.  The  lamp,  I  see,  is  beginning  to  burn 
up.  .  .  .  Nicodemus  sat  grave  and  hieratic,  thin  and  tall, 
in  the  high  chair,  and  the  gloom  on  his  face  was  so  immovable 
that  Joseph  wasted  no  words.  What  has  fallen  out  ?  he 
said,  and  Nicodemus  asked  him  if  he  knew  Phinehas,  the 
great  money-changer  in  the  Temple.  Joseph  nodded,  and, 
holding  his  hands  before  the  fire,  Nicodemus  told  his  story 
very  slowly,  exasperating  Joseph  by  his  slowness ;  but  he 
did  not  dare  to  bid  him  to  hasten,  and,  holding  himself  in 
patience,  he  listened  to  him  while  he  told  that  Phinehas  was 
perhaps  the  worst  of  the  extorters,  the  most  noisy  and  arro- 
gant, a  vicious  and  quarrelsome  man,  who,  yester-morning, 
was  engaged  with  a  rich  Alexandrian  Jew,  Shamhuth,  who 
had  lately  arrived  from  Alexandria  and  was  buying  oxen, 
rams  and  ewes  in  great  numbers  for  sacrifice.  We  wondered 
at  his  munificence,  Nicodemus  said,  not  being  able  to  ex- 
plain it  to  ourselves,  for  the  Feast  of  the  Tabernacles  is 
over;  and  our  curiosity  was  still  more  roused  when  it 
became  known  that  he  was  distributing  largess.  The  man's 
appearance  aroused  suspicion,  for  it  is  indeed  a  fearful  one. 
From  his  single  eye  to  his  chin  a  fearful  avariciousness  fills 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  209 

his  face,  and  the  empty,  withered  socket  speaks  of  a  close, 
sordid,  secret  passion,  and  so  clearly  that  Jesus  said  :  That 
man  has  not  come  to  glorify  God  nor  to  repent  of  his  sins. 
He  is  guilty  of  a  great  crime,  and  he  would  have  it  forgiven 
him.  But  the  crime  ?  Of  what  crime  is  he  guilty  ?  we 
asked.  Jesus  did  not  answer  us,  for  at  that  moment  some 
young  man  had  come  to  listen  to  him,  and  the  man's  crime 
appeared  to  him  as  of  little  importance  compared  to  his  own 
teaching.  Has  he  come,  we  asked,  to  pray  that  his  sight 
may  be  restored  to  him  ?  Jesus  motioned  to  us  that  that  was 
so;  and  he  also  bade  us  be  silent,  for  stories  of  miracles  have 
a  great  hold  upon  the  human  mind,  and  Jesus  wished  to 
teach  some  young  man  who  had  come  to  ask  him  how  they 
were  to  live  during  these  last  days.  But  myself,  consumed 
with  desire  to  hear  the  man's  story,  mingled  with  the  herds- 
men who  had  brought  in  the  cattle,  and  inquired  how  Sham- 
huth  had  lost  his  eye.  None  could  tell  me,  and  I  failed  to 
get  tidings  of  him  till  I  came  upon  an  Alexandrian  Jew  who 
told  me  a  strange  story.  Shamhuth's  money  came  from 
his  friend's  wife,  whom  he  married  after  causing  him  to  be 
killed  by  hirelings ;  and  when  his  senses  tired  of  her  he 
persuaded  her  daughter  to  come  over  to  him  in  the  night. 
Shamhuth  always  walked  praying  aloud,  his  eyes  cast  down 
lest  they  should  fall  upon  a  woman,  and  his  wife  did  not  sus- 
pect him.  But  one  night  she  was  bidden  in  a  dream  to  seek 
her  husband,  and  rising  from  her  bed  she  descended  and 
opened  the  door  very  softly,  not  wishing  to  disturb  him  in 
his  sleep.  The  sight  that  met  her  eyes  kindled  such  a  great 
flame  of  hate  in  her  that  she  returned  to  her  room  for  a  needle, 
and  placing  her  hands  upon  her  daughter's  mouth  she 
quickly  pricked  out  both  her  eyes,  and  then,  approaching 
her  husband,  she  pricked  out  his  right  eye,  and  was  about  to 
prick  out  the  other,  but  he  slid  from  her  hands  and  escaped, 
blind  of  an  eye,  to  Jerusalem,  bringing  with  him  great 
sums  of  money  in  the  hope  that  he  may  purchase  a  miracle, 
p 


2IO  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

which  is  a  great  blasphemy  in  itself,  and  shows  what  the  man 
really  is  in  his  heart. 

Such  was  the  story  that  the  Alexandrian  Jew,  who  knew 
him,  told  us;  and  as  soon  as  these  abominations  became 
known  in  the  Temple  a  riot  began,  and  somebody  cried  : 
The  adulterer  must  be  put  away.  Whereupon  Phinehas, 
seeing  the  large  profits  he  had  expected  vanishing,  turned  to 
Jesus  and  said  :  it  is  thou  who  hast  brought  this  disaster 
upon  me,  lying  Galilean,  who  callest  thyself  the  son  of  David, 
when  all  know  ye  to  be  the  son  of  Joseph  the  Carpenter. 

Son  of  David  !  Son  of  David !  How  can  that  be  ?  the 
people  began  to  ask  each  other,  and  in  the  midst  of  their 
questioning  a  great  hilarity  broke  over  them.  In  great 
wrath  Jesus  overturned  Phinehas'  table,  and  Phinehas 
would  have  overthrown  Jesus  had  not  Peter,  who  had 
armed  himself  with  a  sword,  raised  it.  The  people  became 
like  mad :  tables  were  broken  for  staves,  some  rushed  away 
to  escape  with  a  whole  skin,  and  the  frightened  cattle  dashed 
among  them,  a  black  bull  goring  many.  And  in  all  the  mob 
Jesus  was  the  fiercest  fighter,  lashing  the  people  in  the  face 
with  the  thongs  of  the  whip  he  had  taken  from  a  herdsman, 
and  felling  others  with  the  handle.  The  cages  of  the  doves 
were  broken,  the  birds  took  flight,  and  the  priests,  at  their 
wits'  end,  called  for  the  guards  to  come  down  from  the  porti- 
coes, and  it  was  not  till  much  blood  had  been  spilt  that  order 
was  restored.  Joseph  asked  how  Phinehas  came  out  of  all 
this  trouble  and  heard  that  he  had  escaped  without  injury. 
Merely  losing  a  few  shekels,  not  more,  though  he  deserved 
to  lose  his  life,  for  he  placed  his  money  above  the  Temple,  not 
caring  whether  it  was  polluted  by  the  presence  of  an  adulterer, 
only  thinking  of  the  great  profit  he  could  make  out  of  the 
man's  sins,  differing  in  no  wise  in  this  from  the  priests  and 
sacristans. 

Jesus  should  never  have  gone  to  the  Temple  nor  come  to 
Jerusalem,  Joseph  said.     But  in  this  Nicodemus  could  not 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  211 

agree  with  him,  for  if  Jesus  were  the  Messiah  his  mission 
was  nothing  less  than  to  free  Jerusalem  from  the  Roman 
yoke.  But  he  should  have  brought  a  larger  body  of  dis- 
ciples with  him  —  some  thousands,  instead  of  a  few  hun- 
dreds —  not  enough  to  bring  about  the  abolition  of  the 
Temple,  which,  according  to  Nicodemus,  was  the  Galilean's 
project  —  one  more  difficult  to  accomplish  than  he  thinks 
for.  The  Romans  support  the  Temple,  he  cried,  because  the 
Temple  divides  us.  I  say  it  myself,  Sadducee  though  I  am. 
It  was  these  last  words  that  proved  to  Joseph  that  the 
ringlets  and  bracelets  did  not  comprise  the  whole  of  this 
young  man's  soul,  and  he  was  moved  forthwith  to  confide 
the  story  of  his  father's  sickness  to  him,  dwelling  on  all  its 
consequences :  he  had  not  been  elected  an  apostle,  and 
Jesus  consequently  had  no  one  by  to  tell  him  that  he  must 
not  speak  of  the  abolition  of  the  Law  in  Jerusalem.  But 
if  he  did  not  come  to  incite  the  people  against  the  Temple, 
for  what  did  he  come  ?  Nicodemus  asked.  You've  heard 
him  preach  in  Galilee,  tell  me  who  he  is,  and  in  what  does  his 
teaching  consist  —  a  direct  question  that  prompted  Joseph 
to  relate  his  associations  with  the  Essenes,  Banu,  John,  the 
search  for  Jesus  in  Egypt  and  among  the  Judean  hills  —  a 
long  story  I'm  afraid  it  is,  Joseph  mentioned  apologetically 
to  Nicodemus,  who  begged  him  to  omit  no  detail  of  it. 
Nicodemus  sat  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  Joseph  while  Joseph 
told  of  the  discovery  of  Jesus  in  Galilee  among  his  father's 
fishermen ;  and  as  if  to  excuse  the  almost  immodest  interest 
awakened  in  Nicodemus,  Joseph  murmured  that  the  story 
owed  nothing  to  his  telling  of  it ;  he  was  telling  it  as  plainly 
as  it  could  be  told  for  a  purpose;  Nicodemus  must  judge  it 
fairly.  Resuming  his  narrative,  Joseph  related  the  day 
spent  in  the  forest  and  Jesus'  interpretation  of  the  prophecies. 
Nicodemus  cried  :  he  is  the  stone  cut  by  no  hand  out  of  the 
mountain ;  the  idol  shall  fall,  and  the  stone  that  felled  it 
shall  grow  as  big  as  a  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AS  they  sat  talking  the  servant  brought  in  a  letter  which, 
he  said,  has  just  arrived  from  Galilee.  The  messenger  rode 
the  whole  journey  in  two  days,  sir,  and  you'll  have  to  do 
the  same,  sir,  and  to  start  at  once  if  you  would  see  your  father 
alive.  If  I  would  see  my  father  alive !  if  I  would  see  my 
father  alive !  Joseph  repeated,  and,  seizing  Nicodemus  by 
the  hand,  he  bade  him  farewell. 

Let  an  escort  be  called  together  at  once,  he  cried,  and 
an  hour  later  he  was  on  the  back  of  a  speedy  dromedary 
riding  through  the  night,  his  mind  whirling  with  questions 
which  he  did  not  put  to  the  messenger,  knowing  he  could 
not  answer  any  of  them.  And  they  rode  on  through  that 
night  and  next  day,  stopping  but  once  to  rest  themselves 
and  their  animals  —  six  hours'  rest  was  all  he  allowed  himself 
or  them.  Six  hours'  rest  for  them,  for  him  not  an  hour,  so 
full  was  his  mind  with  questions.  He  rode  on,  drinking  a 
little,  but  eating  nothing,  thinking  how  his  father's  life  might 
be  saved,  of  that  and  nothing  else.  Were  they  feeding  him 
with  milk  every  ten  minutes ;  he  could  not  trust  nurses, 
nobody  but  himself.  Were  they  shouting  in  his  ear,  keeping 
him  awake,  as  it  were,  stimulating  his  consciousness  at 
wane  ? 

Once,  and  only  once,  while  attending  on  his  father  did 
Joseph  remember  that  if  his  father  died  he  would  be  free  to 
follow  Jesus :  a  shameful  thought  that  he  shook  out  of  his 
mind  quickly,  praying  the  while  upon  his  knees  by  the  bed- 
side that  he  might  not  desire  his  father's  death.  As  the 
thought  did  not  come  again,  he  assumed  that  his  prayer  was 

2IZ 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  213 

granted,  and  when  he  returned  to  Jerusalem  a  month  later 
(the  new  year  springing  up  all  about  him),  immersed  in  a  sort 
of  sad  happiness,  thanking  God,  who  had  restored  his  father 
to  health  (Joseph  had  left  Dan  looking  as  if  he  would  live  to  a 
hundred),  a  strange  new  thought  came  into  his  mind  and 
took  possession  of  it :  the  promise  given  his  father  only  bound 
him  during  his  father's  lifetime ;  at  his  father's  death  he  would 
be  free  to  follow  Jesus;  but  the  dead  hold  us  more  tightly 
than  the  living,  and  he  feared  that  his  life  would  be  always 
in  his  father's  keeping. 

He  was  about  his  father's,  business  in  the  counting-house; 
his  father  seemed  to  direct  every  transaction,  and,  ashamed 
of  his  weakness,  he  refrained  from  giving  an  order  till  he 
heard,  or  thought  he  heard,  his  father's  voice  speaking 
through  him,  and  when  he  returned  to  his  dwelling-house, 
over  against  the  desert,  it  often  seemed  to  him  that  if  he  were 
to  raise  his  eyes  from  the  ashes  in  which  some  olive  roots 
were  burning  he  would  see  his  father,  and  as  plain  as  if  he 
were  before  his  eyes  in  the  flesh.  But  my  father  isn't  dead, 
so  what  is  the  meaning  of  this  dreaming  .?  he  cried  one  even- 
ing ;  and,  starting  out  of  his  chair,  he  stood  listening  to  the 
gusts  whirling  through  the  hills  with  so  melancholy  a  sound 
that  Joseph  could  not  dismiss  the  thought  that  the  moment 
was  fateful.  His  father  was  dying  .  .  .  something  was  be- 
falling, or  it  might  be  that  Jesus  was  at  the  door  asking  for 
him.  The  door  opened,  and  he  uttered  a  cry :  what  is  it  ? 
Nicodemus,  the  servant  answered,  has  come  to  see  you,  sir. 
And  he  waited  for  his  order  to  bid  the  visitor  to  enter  or 
depart. 

His  master  seemed  unable  to  give  either  order,  and  stood 
at  gaze  till  the  servant  reminded  him  that  Nicodemus  was 
waiting  in  the  hall ;  and  then,  as  if  yielding  to  superior  force, 
Joseph  answered  he  was  willing  to  receive  the  visitor,  regret- 
ting his  decision  almost  at  once,  while  the  servant  descended 
the  stairs,  and  vehemently  on  seeing  Nicodemus,  who  entered. 


214  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

the  lamplight  falling  upon  him,  more  brilliantly  apparelled 
than  Joseph  had  ever  seen  him.  A  crimson  mantle  hung 
from  his  shoulders  and  a  white  hand  issuing  from  a  purfled 
sleeve  grasped  a  lance;  weapons,  jewelled  and  engraved, 
appeared  among  the  folds  of  his  raiment,  and  he  strode  about 
the  room  in  silence,  as  if  he  thought  it  necessary  to  give 
Joseph  a  few  moments  in  which  to  consider  his  war  gear 
(intended  as  an  elaborate  piece  of  symbolism).  In  response 
to  the  riddle  presented,  Joseph  began  to  wonder  if  Nicodemus 
regarded  himself  rather  as  a  riddle  than  as  a  reality  —  a 
riddle  that  might  be  propounded  again  and  again,  or  if  he 
could  not  do  else  than  devise  gaud  and  trappings  to  conceal 
his  inner  emptiness,  a  dust-heap  of  which  he  himself  was 
grown  weary.  A  great  deal  of  dust-heap  there  certainly 
is,  Joseph  said  to  himself  as  his  eyes  followed  the  strange 
figure  prowling  along  and  across  the  room,  breaking  occa- 
sionally into  speech.  But  he  could  not  help  thinking  that 
beneath  the  dust-heap  there  was  something  of  worth,  for 
when  Nicodemus  spoke,  he  spoke  well,  and  to  speak  well 
means  to  think  well,  and  to  think  well,  Joseph  was  prone 
to  conclude,  means  to  act  well,  if  not  always,  at  least  some- 
times. But  could  an  apt  phrase  condone  the  accoutrements  ? 
He  had  added  a  helmet  to  the  rest  of  his  war  gear,  and  the 
glint  of  the  lamplight  on  the  brass  provoked  Joseph  to  beg 
of  him  to  unarm  and  relate  his  story,  that  burdens  you  more 
than  your  armour,  he  said.  At  these  words  Nicodemus  was 
raised  from  the  buffoon  to  a  man  of  sense  and  shrewdness. 
I  have  come  here,  he  said,  to  speak  to  you  about  Jesus. 
But  the  story  is  a  somewhat  perilous  one,  and  as  it  rains  no 
longer  I  will  walk  with  you  along  the  hillside  and  tell  it  to 
you. 

He  raised  his  hand  to  Joseph,  forbidding  him  to  speak,  and 
it  was  not  till  they  reached  a  lonely  track  that  Nicodemus 
stopped  suddenly  :  his  death  had  been  resolved  upon,  he  said, 
and  the  two  men  stood  for  a  moment  looking  into  each  other's 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  215 

eyes  without  speaking.  It  was  Nicodemus  who  fell  to 
walking  again  and  the  relation  of  circumstances.  He  had 
come  straight  from  the  Sanhedrin,  where  he  defended  Jesus 
against  his  enemies  and  accusers  at  some  personal  risk,  as 
he  was  quickly  brought  to  see  by  Raguel's  retort :  and  art 
thou  too  a  Galilean  ?  And  walking  with  his  eyes  on  the 
ground,  as  if  communing  with  himself,  Nicodemus  related 
that  there  was  now  but  one  opinion  in  the  Sanhedrin :  Jesus 
and  Judaism  were  incompatible ;  one  or  the  other  must  go. 
Better  that  one  man  should  perish  than  that  a  nation  should 
be  destroyed,  he  said,  are  the  words  one  hears.  Stopping 
again,  he  said,  looking  Joseph  in  the  face :  it  is  believed  that 
sufficient  warrant  for  his  death  has  been  gotten,  for  he  said 
not  many  days  ago  he  could  destroy  the  Temple  and  build 
it  again  in  three  days,  which  can  be  interpreted  as  speech 
against  the  law.  Joseph  asked  that  a  meaning  should  be 
put  on  the  words,  and  Nicodemus  answered  that  Jesus  spoke 
figuratively.  To  his  mind  the  Temple  stood  for  no  more 
than  observances  from  which  all  spiritual  significance  had 
faded  long  ago,  and  Jesus  meant  that  he  could  and  would 
replace  dead  formulae  by  a  religion  of  heart :  the  true  religion 
which  has  no  need  of  priests  or  sacrifices.  We  must  persuade 
him  to  leave  Jerusalem  and  return  to  Galilee,  Joseph  cried, 
his  voice  trembling.  By  no  means,  by  no  means,  Nicodemus 
exclaimed,  raising  his  voice  and  stamping  his  lance.  He  has 
been  called  to  the  work  and  must  drive  the  plough  to  the 
headland,  though  death  be  waiting  him  there.  But  he  can 
be  saved,  I  think,  Nicodemus  continued,  his  voice  assuming 
a  thoughtful  tone,  for  though  he  has  spoken  against  the  law 
the  Jews  may  not  put  him  to  death :  his  death  can  be  ob- 
tained only  by  application  to  Pilate.  Will  Pilate  grant  it  to 
please  the  Jews  ?  Joseph  asked.  The  Romans  are  averse, 
Nicodemus  answered,  from  religious  executions  and  will  not 
comprehend  the  putting  to  death  of  a  man  for  saying  he  can 
destroy  the  Temple  and  build  it  again  in  three  days. 


2i6  THE  BROOK   KERITH 

Nicodemus  became  prolix  and  tedious,  repeating  again 
and  again  that  it  was  the  second  part  of  the  sentence  that 
would  save  Jesus,  for  it  was  obvious  that  though  a  man 
might  destroy  the  Temple  in  three  days  (a  great  fire  would 
achieve  the  destruction  in  a  few  hours),  he  could  not  build 
it  again  in  three  days.  This  second  part  of  the  sentence 
proved  beyond  doubt  that  Jesus  was  speaking  figuratively, 
and  the  Romans  would  refuse  to  put  a  man  to  death  because 
•he  was  a  poet  and  spoke  in  symbols  and  allegories.  The 
Romans  were  hard,  but  they  were  just ;  and  he  spoke  on 
Roman  justice  till  they  came  round  the  hills  shouldering  over 
against  Bethany,  and  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a 
small  group  of  men  taking  shelter  from  the  wind  behind  a 
large  rock.  Why,  Master,  it  is  you.  And  Joseph  recognized 
Peter's  voice,  and  afterwards  the  voices  of  James  and  John, 
who  were  with  him,  called  to  Matthew  and  Aristion,  who 
were  at  some  little  distance,  sitting  under  another  rock,  and 
the  five  apostles  crowded  round  Joseph,  bidding  him  welcome, 
Peter,  James  and  John  demonstratively,  and  Aristion  and 
Matthew,  who  knew  Joseph  but  little,  giving  him  a  more 
timid  but  hardly  less  friendly  welcome.  We  did  not  know 
why  you  had  left  us,  they  said.  But  it  is  pleasant  to  find 
you  in  Jerusalem,  for  we  are  lonely  here,  Matthew  said, 
and  the  Hierosolymites  mock  at  us  for  not  speaking  as  they 
do.  But  you  are  with  us  here,  young  Master,  as  you  were 
in  Galilee  ?  John  asked.  We  knew  not  why  you  left  us. 
But  we  did,  John,  Peter  interposed,  we  knew  well  that  Jesus 
said  to  him,  when  he  returned  from  his  father's  sick-bed, 
that  those  who  would  follow  him  must  leave  father  and 
mother,  brother  and  sister,  wives  and  children  to  live  and 
die  by  themselves,  which  is  as  we  have  done.  Yes,  sir,  Peter 
continued,  freeing  himself  from  John  and  turning  to  Joseph, 
we've  left  this  world  behind  us,  or  if  not  this  world  itself, 
the  things  of  this  world  :  our  boats  and  nets,  our  wives  and 
our  children.     All  that  Jesus  calls  our  ghostly  life  we  have 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  217 

thrown  into  the  lake.  My  wife  and  children  and  mother- 
in-law  are  all  there,  and  John  and  James  have  left  their 
mother,  Salome.  But,  said  James,  the  neighbours  will  not 
be  lacking  to  give  her  a  bite  if  she  wants  something  when  she 
is  hungry.  She'll  be  getting  men  to  fish  for  her,  for  we've 
left  her  our  boats  and  nets.  They've  done  this,  Peter  chimed 
in,  and  my  wife  and  children  will  have  to  be  fishing  for  them- 
selves ;  but  we  hope  they'll  manage  to  get  somehow  a  bite 
and  a  sup  of  something  till  the  Kingdom  comes,  which  we 
hope  will  not  be  delayed  much  longer,  for  we  like  not  Jeru- 
salem, and  being  mocked  at  in  the  Temple.  But  say  ye. 
Master,  that  we've  done  wrong  in  leaving  our  wives  and 
children  to  fish  for  themselves  ?  It  seemed  hard  at  first,  and 
you  were  weak.  Master,  and  stayed  with  your  father;  but 
after  all  he  has  money  and  could  pay  for  attendance,  whereas 
our  wives  and  little  ones  have  none;  ourselves  will  be  in 
straits  to  get  our  living  if  the  Kingdom  be  delayed  in  its 
coming,  for  what  good  are  fishermen  except  along  the  sea 
coast  or  where  there  is  a  lake  or  a  river,  and  here  there  isn't 
enough  water  for  a  minnow  to  swim  in.  Our  wives  and  our 
children  are  better  off  than  we  are,  for  they'll  be  getting 
someone  to  fish  for  them,  and  will  stand  at  the  doors  at  Caper- 
naum waiting  for  the  boats  to  return,  praying  that  the  nets 
weren't  let  down  in  vain ;  but  we  aren't  as  sure  of  the  King- 
dom as  we  were  of  a  great  take  of  fishes  in  Galilee  when  the 
wind  was  favourable  to  fishing.  Not  that  we'd  have  you 
think  our  faith  be  failing  us ;  we  be  as  firm  as  ever  we  were, 
as  John  and  James  will  be  telling  you.  And  Peter,  interrupt- 
ing them  again,  reminded  Joseph  that  if  they  lacked  faith 
the  promised  Kingdom  would  not  come. 

It  was  Jesus'  faith  that  upheld  us,  John  said,  pushing  Peter 
aside,  and  the  promises  he  made  us  that  we  might  hear  the 
trumpets  of  the  cherubims  and  seraphims  announcing  the 
Kingdom  at  any  moment  of  the  day  or  night.  And  making 
himself  the  spokesman  of  the  five,  John  told  Joseph  and 


21 8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Nicodemus  that  Jesus  now  looked  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
Kingdom  as  a  very  secondary  matter,  and  his  own  death  as 
one  of  much  greater  import.  He  says  that  he'll  have  to  give 
his  blood  to  the  earth  and  his  flesh  to  the  birds  of  the  air  else 
none  will  believe  his  teaching.  He  says  that  God  demands 
a  victim ;  and  looks  upon  him  as  the  victim ;  but  if  that  be 
so,  the  world  will  get  his  teaching  and  we  shall  get  nothing, 
for  we  know  his  teaching  of  old. 

As  Peter  has  told  you,  James  interrupted,  there  be  no 
water  here,  not  a  spring  nor  a  rivulet,  nothing  in  which  a 
fish  could  live ;  we're  fishermen  stranded  in  a  desert  without 
boats  or  nets,  which  would  be  of  no  use  to  us,  nor  am  I 
gainsaying  it ;  but  if  he  gives  himself  as  a  victim  how  shall 
we  get  back  to  Galilee  ?  He  now  talks  not  of  these  matters 
to  us,  but  of  his  Father  only,  and  of  doing  his  Father's  will. 
He  seems  to  have  forgotten  us,  and  everything  else  but  his 
Father  and  his  Father's  will,  and  we  cannot  make  him  under- 
stand when  we  try  that  we  shall  want  money,  that  money 
will  be  wanting  to  get  us  back  to  Galilee,  nor  does  he  hear 
us  when  we  say  :  our  nets  and  our  boats  may  have  passed  into 
other  hands.  We  know  not  what  is  come  over  him ;  he's  a 
changed  man ;  a  lamb  as  long  as  you're  agreeing  with  him, 
but  at  a  word  of  contradiction  he's  all  claws  and  teeth. 

The  walk  is  a  long  one,  Matthew  interjected,  and  the  taxes 
will  be  collected  by  the  time  we  get  back  if  the  Kingdom 
don't  come,  and  sore  of  foot  I'll  be  sitting  in  a  desolate  house 
without  wife  or  children  or  fire  in  the  hearth.  But  we  have 
faith,  they  all  cried  out  together,  and  having  followed  Jesus 
so  far  we'll  follow  him  to  the  end.  But  we  are  glad,  sirs, 
James  said,  that  you've  come,  for  you'll  see  Jesus  and  tell  him 
that  we  would  like  to  have  a  word  from  him  as  to  when  we 
may  expect  the  Kingdom  ;  and  a  word,  too,  as  to  what  it  will 
be  like;  whether  there'll  be  rivers  and  lakes  well  stocked 
with  fish  in  it,  and  whether  our  chairs  shall  be  set ;  Peter  on 
the  Master's  right  hand  to  be  sure,  we  are  all  agreed  as,  to 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  219 

that.  But  you  remember,  Master,  our  mother,  Salome, 
how  she  took  Jesus  aside  and  said  that  myself  and  John 
were  to  be  on  his  left  with  Andrew  one  below  us  ?  Peter 
began  to  raise  his  voice,  and,  straightening  his  shoulders, 
he  declared  that  his  brother  Andrew  must  sit  on  Jesus' 
left.  You  remember.  Master  ?  I  remember,  Joseph  in- 
terrupted, that  the  Master  answered  you  all  saying  that 
every  chair  had  been  made  and  caned  and  cushioned  before 
the  world  was.  You  can't  have  forgotten,  Peter,  this  saying  : 
that  every  one  would  find  a  chair  according  to  his  measure  ? 
Yes,  Master,  he  did  say  something  like  that.  I'm  far  from 
saying  we'd  all  sit  equally  easy  in  the  same  chairs,  and  if 
the  chairs  were  before  the  world  was,  all  I  can  say  is  that 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  lack  of"  foresight,  for  how  could 
God  himself  know  what  our  backsides  would  be  like  years 
upon  years  before  they  came  into  being. 

About  that  we  will  speak  later;  but  now  point  out  the 
house  of  Simon  the  Leper  to  us  where  Jesus  lodges,  Joseph 
asked.  You  see  yon  house,  James  replied,  and  they  went 
forward  together,  meeting  on  the  way  thither  several  apostles 
and  many  disciples ;  and  these  accompanied  Joseph  and 
Nicodemus  to  the  door,  telling  them  the  while  that  Jesus 
had  driven  them  out  of  the  house.  It  is  a  main  struggle 
that  is  going  by  in  him,  Philip  said,  and  so  we  left  him, 
being  afraid  of  his  looks.  Isn't  that  so,  Bartholomew  ? 
And  they  all  acquiesced,  and  Bartholomew  nodded,  saying: 
yes,  we  were  afraid  of  his  looks.  It  was  then  that  Simon 
the  Leper  opened  the  door,  and  Joseph,  remembering  his 
promise  to  his  father,  laid  his  hand  on  Nicodemus'  shoulder : 
I  may  not  enter,  he  said.  I  have  come  thus  far  but  may 
not  go  into  the  house;  but  do  you  go  in  and  tell  him, 
Nicodemus,  that  in  spirit  I  am  with  him. 

On  these  words  Nicodemus  passed  into  the  house,  leaving 
Joseph  in  the  centre  of  a  small  crowd  of  apostles,  disciples 
and  sympathisers  in  several  degrees,  all  eager  to  talk  to 


220  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

him  and  to  hear  him  say  that  they  had  but  to  follow  Jesus 
to  Jerusalem  and  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  would  give  way 
before  them  at  once.  You  that  are  of  the  Sanhedrin  should 
know  if  we  are  strong  enough  to  cast  them  out  of  the  Temple. 
But,  my  good  men,  I  know  nothing  of  your  plot  to  clear  the 
Temple  of  its  thieves,  Joseph  answered,  and  there'll  always 
be  thieves  in  this  world,  wherever  you  go.  But  the  Day  of 
Judgment  is  approaching.  When  may  we  expect  his  second 
coming  ?  somebody  shouted  from  out  of  a  group  of  men 
standing  a  little  way  back  from  the  others,  and  the  cry  was 
taken  up.  He  is  coming  with  his  Father  in  a  chariot,  one  said. 
With  our  Father,  somebody  interrupted,  and  an  eddying 
current  of  theology  spread  through  the  crowd.  I've  come 
from  Galilee,  from  my  father's  sick-bed,  and  know  nothing 
of  your  numbers  and  have  not  seen  him  these  many  months, 
Joseph  said.  He  is  the  true  Messiah,  and  we  believe  in  him, 
was  an  unexpected  utterance ;  but  Joseph  was  not  given  time 
to  ponder  on  it,  for  a  woman,  thrusting  her  way  up  to  him, 
cried  out  in  his  face :  he  can  destroy  the  Temple  and  build  it 
again  in  three  days.  And  when  Joseph  asked  her  who  had 
said  that,  she  told  him  that  Jesus  had  said  it.  He  turned  to 
Peter,  John  and  James  to  ask  them  the  meaning  of  these 
words.  What  did  Jesus  mean  when  he  said  he  could  destroy 
the  Temple  and  build  it  again  in  three  days  ?  He  means, 
said  half-a-dozen  voices,  that  the  priests  and  the  Scribes  are 
to  be  cast  out,  and  a  new  Temple  set  up,  for  the  pure  worship 
of  the  true  God,  who  desires  not  the  fat  of  rams.  Joseph 
understood  that  the  rams  destined  for  sacrifice  were  to  be 
given  to  the  poor. 

If  you  don't  mind,  will  you  be  telling  us  why  you  refuse 
to  go  up  with  Nicodemus  to  ask  Jesus  to  delay  no  longer, 
but  to  lead  us  into  Jerusalem  ?  he  was  asked,  and  perforce 
had  to  answer  that  Nicodemus  wished  to  talk  privily  to 
Jesus,  at  which  they  pressed  round  him,  and  from  every  side 
the  question  was  put  to  him :    is  he  going  to  lead  us  into 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  221 

Jerusalem  ?  And  then  Joseph  began  to  understand  that  these 
people  would  find  themselves  on  the  morrow,  or  perhaps  the 
next  day,  fighting  with  the  Roman  legions,  and,  knowing  how 
the  fight  would  end,  he  answered  them  that  the  Romans 
would  be  on  the  side  of  the  Priests  and  Scribes.  Whereupon 
they  tore  their  garments  and  cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and 
in  his  attempt  to  pacify  them  he  asked  if  it  would  not  be 
better  for  Jesus  to  go  up  to  Galilee  and  wait  till  the  Priests 
were  less  prepared  to  resist  him.  No,  no,  to  Jerusalem,  to 
Jerusalem,  they  cried  on  every  side,  and  voices  were  again 
raised,  and  the  Galileans  admitted  that  they  had  come  down 
from  Galilee  for  this  revolution,  and  had  been  insulted  in  the 
Temple  by  the  Scribes,  and  laughed  at,  and  called  "foolish 
Galileans";  but  they  would  show  the  Scribes  what  the 
Galileans  could  do.  Was  it  true  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah 
promised  to  the  Jewish  people  by  the  prophet  Daniel  ?  — 
and  while  Joseph  was  seeking  an  answer  to  this  question  a 
woman  cried  :  you're  not  worthy  of  a  Messiah,  for  do  you  not 
know  that  he  is  the  one  promised  to  us  in  Holy  Writ  ?  And 
do  not  his  miracles  prove  that  he  is  the  Messiah  we  have  been 
waiting  for  ?  None  but  the  true  Messiah  could  have  rid  my 
son  of  the  demon  that  infested  him  for  two  years ;  and  with 
these  words  gaining  the  attention  of  the  crowd  she  related 
how  the  ghost  of  a  man  long  dead  had  come  into  her  boy 
when  he  was  but  fourteen,  bringing  him  to  the  verge  of  death 
in  two  years  —  a  pale,  exhausted  creature,  having  no  will  of 
his  own  nor  strength  for  anything.  But  how,  asked  Joseph, 
do  you  know  that  the  demon  was  the  ghost  of  a  man  that 
had  lived  long  ago  ?  Because  in  life  he  had  dearly  loved 
his  wife,  but  had  found  her  to  be  unfaithful  to  him  and  had 
died  of  grief  twenty  years  ago,  and  was  captured  then  by 
the  beauty  of  my  boy ;  and  his  grief  entered  into  the  boy 
and  abode  in  him,  and  would  have  destroyed  him  utterly 
if  Jesus  had  not  imposed  his  hands  upon  him  and  put  the 
vampire  to  flight.     Whither  I  know  not,  but  my  boy  is  free. 


222  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

It  is  as  the  woman  says,  a  man  cried  out,  for  I've  seen  the 
boy,  and  he  is  free  now  of  the  demon.  My  limb,  too,  is 
proof  that  Jesus  is  a  prophet.  And  the  lion-hunter  told  how 
in  a  fight  with  a  great  beast  his  thigh  had  been  dislocated ; 
and  for  seven  years  he  had  walked  with  a  crutch,  but  the 
moment  Jesus  imposed  his  hands  upon  him  the  use  of  his 
limb  was  given  back  to  him. 

Another  came  forward  and  showed  his  arm,  which  for 
many  a  year  had  hung  lifeless,  but  as  soon  as  Jesus  took 
it  in  his  hand  the  sinews  reknit  themselves,  and  now  it  was 
stronger  than  the  other.  And  then  a  woman  pressed  through 
the  crowd,  and  she  wished  everybody  to  know  that  a  flux  of 
blood  that  had  troubled  her  for  seven  years  had  been  healed. 
But  the  people  were  bored  with  accounts  of  miracles  and  were 
now  anxious  to  hear  from  Joseph  if  Jesus  was  going  up  to 
Jerusalem  for  the  Feast  of  the  Passover.  But,  my  friends, 
I  have  but  just  returned  from  Galilee,  and  have  come  from 
there  to  learn  these  things.  He  is  watching  for  a  sign  from 
his  Father  in  Heaven,  a  woman  cried,  shaking  her  head.  A 
man  tried  to  get  some  words  privily  with  Joseph  :  will  he 
speak  against  the  taxes  ?  he  asked,  but  before  he  could  get  any 
further  Nicodemus  appeared  in  the  doorway,  and  the  people 
pressed  round  him,  asking  what  Jesus  had  said  to  him,  and  if 
he  were  coming  down  to  speak  to  them.  But  before  Nico- 
demus could  answer  any  of  them  the  lion-hunter  cried  out 
that  a  priest  was  not  so  terrible  a  beast  as  a  lion,  and  while 
he  was  with  them  Jesus  had  nothing  to  fear.  At  whi(;h  his 
enemy  in  the  crowd  began  to  jeer,  saying :  Asiel  wears  the 
lion's  skin,  we  all  know,  but  he  has  never  told  anybody  who 
killed  the  lion  for  him.  And  the  men  might  have  hit  each 
other  if  the  woman  who  suff^ered  for  seven  years  had  not  cried 
out :  now,  what  are  you  fighting  for  ?  know  ye  not  that  Jesus 
cannot  come  down  to  us,  for  he  is  waiting  for  a  sign  from  his 
Father  ?  From  our  Father,  John  thundered  out.  Nico- 
demus said  he  had  spoken  truly,  and  the  crowd  followed 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  223 

Nicodemus  and  Joseph  a  little  way.  Do  not  return  to  the 
house  of  Simon  the  Leper.  Leave  Jesus  in  peace  to-night  to 
pray,  meditate,  and  rest,  for  he  needs  rest.  He'll  lead  you 
to  Jerusalem  as  soon  as  he  gets  a  sign  from  our  Father  which 
is  in  Heaven,  Nicodemus  said. 

At  these  words  the  people  dispersed  in  great  joy,  and 
Joseph  and  Nicodemus  walked  on  together  in  silence,  till 
Joseph,  feeling  that  they  were  safely  out  of  hearing,  asked 
if  Jesus  spoke  of  his  intention  to  take  Jerusalem  by  assault. 
Nicodemus  seemed  to  examine  his  memory  for  a  moment,  and 
then,  as  if  forgetting  Joseph's  question,  he  began  to  tell  that 
Jesus  was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room  when  he  entered, 
seemingly  unaware  that  his  disciples  were  assembled  about 
the  house.  His  eyes  fixed,  as  it  were,  on  his  thoughts  or  ideas, 
he  did  not  hear  the  door  open,  and  to  get  his  attention 
Nicodemus  had  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  arm.  At  his  touch 
Jesus  awoke  from  his  dream,  but  it  seemed  quite  a  little  while 
before  he  could  shake  himself  free  from  his  dream,  and  was 
again  of  this  world.  Joseph  asked  Nicodemus  to  repeat  his 
first  words.  Was  he  violent  or  affectionate  ?  Affectionate, 
gentle,  and  winning,  Nicodemus  answered.  A  few  moments 
of  sweetness,  and  then  he  seemed  suddenly  to  become  old 
and  wild  and  savage. 

The  two  men  stopped  on  the  road,  and  Nicodemus,  looking 
into  Joseph's  eyes,  said  :  I  asked  him  if  he  were  going  up  to 
Jerusalem  for  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  and  after  speaking  a 
few  words  on  the  subject  he  broke  out,  coiling  himself  like  a 
diseased  panther  meditating  on  its  spring,  and  as  if  uncertain 
if  he  could  accomplish  it,  he  fell  back  into  a  chair  and  into  his 
dream,  out  of  which  he  spoke  a  few  words  clear  and  reason- 
able; and  then  with  a  concentrated  hate  he  spoke  of  the 
Temple  as  a  resort  of  thieves  and  of  the  Priests  as  the  de- 
spoilers  of  widows  and  orphans,  saying  that  the  law  must 
be  abrogated  and  the  Temple  destroyed.  Until  then  there 
would  be  no  true  religion  in  Judea.     It  is  like  that  he  speaks 


224  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

now;  the  one-time  reformer  sees  clearly  that  the  Temple 
must  go.  And  would  he,  Joseph  asked,  build  another  in  its 
place  ?  I'm  not  sure  that  he  would.  I  put  the  question  to 
him  and  he  was  uncertain  if  the  old  foundations  could  be 
used.  The  old  spirits  of  lust,  and  blood,  and  money  would 
haunt  the  walls,  and  as  fast  as  we  raised  up  a  new  Temple  the 
spirits  would  pull  it  down  and  rebuild  it  as  it  was  before. 
We  are  forbidden  by  the  law  of  Moses  to  create  any  graven 
image  of  man,  of  bird  or  beast.  Would  that  Moses  had 
added  :  build  no  walls,  for  as  soon  as  there  are  walls  priests 
will  enter  in  and  set  themselves  upon  thrones.  The  priests 
have  taken  the  place  of  God,  and  I  have  come,  he  said,  to 
cast  them  out  of  their  thrones,  and  to  cut  the  knot  of  the 
bondage  of  the  people  of  Israel.  I  come,  he  said,  with  a 
sword  to  cut  that  knot,  which  hands  have  failed  to  loosen, 
and  in  my  other  hand  there  is  a  torch,  and  with  it  I  shall  set 
fire  to  the  thrones.  All  the  world  as  ye  know  it  must  be 
burnt  up  like  stubble,  for  a  new  world  to  rise  up  in  its  place. 
In  the  beginning  I  spoke  sweet  words  of  peace,  and  they  were 
of  no  avail  to  stay  the  sins  that  were  committed  in  every 
house;  so  now  I  speak  no  more  sweet  words  to  anybody, 
but  words  that  shall  divide  father  from  son,  and  mother  from 
daughter,  and  wife  from  husband.  There  is  no  other  way 
to  cure  the  evil.  What  say  I,  he  cried,  cure  !  There  is  none. 
The  evil  must  be  cut  down  and  thrown  upon  the  fire,  and  who- 
soever would  be  saved  from  the  fire  must  follow  me.  The 
priests  hate  me  and  call  me  arrogant,  but  if  I  seem  arrogant 
to  them  it  is  because  I  speak  the  word  of  God. 

And  then,  seizing  me  by  the  shoulder,  he  said  :  look  into 
my  eyes  and  see.  They  shall  tell  thee  that  those  who  would 
be  saved  from  the  fire  must  follow  me.  I  am  the  word,  the 
truth,  and  the  life.  Follow  me,  follow  me,  or  else  be  for  ever 
accursed  and  destroyed  and  burnt  up  like  weeds  that  the 
gardener  throws  into  heaps  and  fires  on  an  autumn  evening. 
Yes,  he  cried,  we  are  nearing  the  springtime  when  life  shall 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  225 

begin  again  in  the  world.  But  I  say  to  thee  that  this  spring- 
time shall  never  come  to  pass.  Never  again  shall  the  fig 
ripen  on  the  wall  and  the  wheat  be  cut  down  in  the  fields. 
Before  these  things  come  to  pass  in  their  natural  course  the 
Son  of  Man  shall  return  in  a  chariot  of  fire  to  make  an  end 
of  things ;  or  if  thou  wilt  thou  canst  say  that  he'll  come  not  to 
make  an  end  but  a  new  beginning,  a  world  in  which  justice 
and  peace  shall  reign.  And  it  is  for  this  end  I  offer  myself,  a 
victim  to  appease  our  Father  in  Heaven.  I'm  the  sacrifice 
and  the  communion,  for  it  is  no  longer  the  fat  of  rams  that  my 
Father  desires,  but  my  blood,  only  that ;  only  my  blood  will 
appease  his  wrath.  As  I  have  said,  I  am  the  communion, 
and  thou  shalt  eat  my  flesh  and  drink  my  blood,  else  perish 
utterly,  and  go  into  eternal  damnation.     But  I  love  thee  and 

And  after  a  pause  he  said  :    those  that  love  God  are 

loved  by  me,  and  willingly  and  gladly  will  I  yield  myself  up 
as  the  last  sacrifice. 

Nicodemus  stopped,  for  his  memory  died  suddenly,  and, 
unable  to  discover  anything  in  the  blank,  he  turned  to  Joseph 
and  said  :  he  speaks  with  a  strange,  bitter  energy,  like  one 
that  has  lost  control  of  his  words;  he  is  hardly  aware  of 
them,  nor  does  he  retain  any  memory  of  them.  They  are 
as  the  wind,  rising  we  know  not  why,  and  going  its  way 
unbidden.  I  have  seen  him  like  that  in  Galilee,  Joseph 
answered.  Ah  !  Nicodemus  answered  suddenly,  I  remember, 
but  cannot  put  words  upon  it.  He  said  that  before  the  world 
was,  he  and  his  Father  were  one,  and  that  his  great  love  of 
man  induced  him  to  separate  himself 

At  that  moment  a  man  came  out  from  the  shadow  of  a 
rock  and  approached  the  wayfarers,  who  drew  back  quickly, 
thinking  they  were  about  to  be  attacked.  It  is  Judas, 
Joseph  whispered,  one  of  the  apostles.  You  have  seen  Jesus  ? 
Judas  asked  breathlessly,  and  when  Nicodemus  told  how 
Jesus  had  said  he  would  go  up  to  Jerusalem  for  the  Passover 
he  cried  out :   to  lead  us  against  the  Temple  ?     He  must  be 


226  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

saved.  From  what  ?  Nicodemus  asked  :  from  his  mission  ? 
He  must  go  on  to  the  end  with  the  work  he  has  been  called  out 
of  heaven  to  accomplish.  I  can  see  that  you  have  been  speak- 
ing with  him.  Called  out  of  heaven  to  accomplish !  And 
then,  clasping  his  hands,  Judas  looked  with  imploring  eyes 
upon  them  :  save  him,  he  cried,  save  him,  for  if  not,  I  must 
myself,  for  every  day  his  pride  redoubles  and  now  he  believes 
himself  to  be  the  Messiah,  the  Messiah  as  sent  by  God,  Judas 
cried.  By  whom  else  could  he  be  sent  ?  Joseph  replied.  If 
he  be  not  taken  by  the  priests  and  put  to  death  he  will  be 
driven  by  the  demon  into  the  last  blasphemy ;  one  which  no 
Jew  has  yet  committed  even  in  his  heart,  and  if  that  word  be 
spoken  all  will  be  accomplished,  and  the  Lord  will  choose 
another  nation  from  among  the  Gentiles.  He  will  declare 
himself  God,  Judas  continued.  Nicodemus  and  Joseph 
raised  their  hands.  He  speaks  already  of  the  time  before  the 
world  was,  when  he  and  his  Father  were  one ;  and  setting 
aside  the  Scriptures  in  his  madness  he  has  begun  to  imagine 
that  the  angels  that  revolted  against  God  were  changed  into 
men,  and  given  the  world  for  abode  till  their  sins  so  angered 
the  Father  (remark  you,  of  whom  Jesus  was  then  a  part) 
that  he  determined  to  destroy  the  world  ;  at  which  Jesus  in 
his  great  love  of  men  (or  of  fallen  angels,  for  betimes  he 
doesn't  know  what  he  is  saying)  said  he  would  put  Godhead 
off  and  become  man,  and  give  his  life  as  atonement  for  the 
sins  of  men.  Sirs,  I'll  ask  you  how  God  or  man  may  by  his 
death  make  atonement  for  the  sins  that  men  have  committed  .? 
Hear  me  to  the  end,  for  as  many  minutes  as  you  have  listened, 
I  have  listened  hours.  By  this  sacrifice  of  his  life  his  teaching 
will  become  known  to  men  and  he  will  reign  the  one  and  only 
king  till  the  world  itself  crumbles  and  perishes.  Then  he 
will  become  one  with  his  Father,  and  from  that  moment 
there  will  be  but  one  God,  These  are  the  thoughts,  noble 
sirs,  on  which  he  is  brooding,  and  if  he  go  up  to  yon  town  it 
will  be  to Judas  could  not  bring  himself  to  pronounce 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  227 

the  words  "declare  himself  God,"  so  blasphemous  did  they 
seem  to  him.  And  before  the  wayfarers  could  ask  him,  as 
they  were  minded  to,  if  he  were  sure  that  he  had  rightly 
understood  Jesus,  the  apostle  had  bidden  them  farewell  and, 
running  up  a  by-track,  disappeared  into  the  darkness,  leaving 
behind  him  a  memory  of  a  large  bony  nose  hanging  over  a 
thin  black  moustache  that  barely  covered  his  lips. 

As  they  walked  towards  the  city,  over  which  the  moon 
was  hanging,  filling  the  valleys  and  hills  with  strange,  fan- 
tastical shadows,  they  remembered  the  black,  shaggy  eye- 
brows, the  luminous  eyes,  and  the  bitter,  penetrating  voice, 
and  they  remembered  the  gait,  the  long  striding  legs  as  they 
hastened  up  the  steep  path ;  even  the  pinched  back  often 
started  up  in  their  memory.  And  the  next  three  or  four  days 
they  sought  him  in  the  crowds  that  assembled  to  make  the 
triumphal  entry  with  Jesus  into  Jerusalem,  but  he  was  not 
to  be  seen ;  and  if  he  had  been  among  the  people  they  could 
not  have  failed  to  discover  him.  He  is  not  here  to  welcome 
Jesus,  Joseph  muttered  under  his  breath,  and  added  :  can 
it  be  that  he  has  deserted  to  the  other  side  ? 

He  is  a  sort  of  other  Jesus,  Nicodemus  said.  But  yonder 
Jesus  comes  riding  on  an  ass,  on  which  a  crimson  cloak  has 
been  laid.  As  Jesus  passed  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  he  waved 
his  hand,  and  there  was  a  smile  on  his  lips  and  a  light  in  his 
eye.  He  seems  to  have  become  suddenly  young  again, 
Joseph  said.  He  Is  exalted,  Nicodemus  added  sadly,  by  his 
following.  And  they  counted  about  fifty  men  and  women. 
Does  he  think  that  with  these  he  will  drive  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  out  of  the  Temple  ?  he  added.  He  is  happy 
again,  Joseph  answered.  See  how  he  lifts  up  the  fringe  of 
the  mantle  they  have  laid  upon  the  ass,  and  admires  It.  His 
face  Is  happier  than  we  have  seen  It  for  many  a  day.  He  likes 
the  people  to  salute  him  as  the  Son  of  David.  Yet  he  knows, 
Nicodemus  said,  that  he  Is  the  son  of  Joseph  the  Carpenter. 
Ask  him  to  beg  the  people  not  to  call  him  the  Son  of  David, 


228  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Joseph  pleaded.  And,  running  after  the  ass,  Nicodemus 
dared  to  say :  ask  the  people  not  to  call  thee  the  Son  of 
David,  for  it  will  go  against  thee  in  the  end.  But  Jesus* 
heart  at  that  moment  was  swollen  with  pride,  and  he  an- 
swered Nicodemus :  what  thou  hearest  to-day  on  earth  was 
spoken  in  heaven  before  our  Father  bade  the  stars  give  light. 
Be  not  afraid  for  my  sake.  Remember  that  whomsoever 
my  Father  sends  on  earth  to  do  his  business,  him  will  he 
watch  over.  He  has  no  eyes  for  me,  Joseph  said  sadly,  for 
I  left  him  to  attend  my  father  in  sickness.  And,  taking 
Nicodemus'  arm,  he  drew  him  close,  that  he  might  more 
safely  whisper  that  two  men  seemed  to  be  searching  in  their 
garments  as  if  for  daggers.  Nicodemus  knew  them  to  be 
hirelings  in  the  pay  of  the  priests.  Look,  he  said,  how  their 
hands  fidget  for  their  daggers :  the  opportunity  seems  fa- 
vourable now  to  stab  him ;  but  no,  the  crowd  closes  round 
his  ass  again,  and  the  Zealots  draw  back.  God  saved  Daniel 
from  the  flames  and  the  lions,  Joseph  answered.  But  will 
he,  Nicodemus  returned,  be  able  to  save  him  from  the 
priests  ? 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

NICODEMUS  invited  Joseph  to  follow  Jesus,  saying  that 
at  a  safe  distance  he  would  like  to  see  him  ride  through 
the  gates  into  the  city;  but  Joseph,  sorely  troubled  in  his 
mind,  could  not  answer  him,  and  an  hour  later  was  hasten- 
ing along  the  Jericho  road,  praying  all  the  while  that  he  might 
be  given  strength  to  keep  the  promise  he  had  given  to  his 
father.  But  no  sooner  was  he  in  Jericho  than  he  began  to 
feel  ashamed  of  himself,  and  after  resisting  the  impulse  to 
return  to  Jesus  for  two  days  he  yielded  to  it,  and  returned 
obediently  the  way  he  had  come,  uncertain  whether  shame  of 
his  cowardice  or  love  was  bringing  him  back.  One  or  the 
other  it  must  be,  he  said,  as  he  came  round  the  bend  in  the 
road  into  Bethany;  and  it  was  soon  after  passing  through 
that  village,  somewhere  about  three  o'clock,  that  he  met  his 
masons  coming  from  Mount  Scropas.  Coming  from  my  tomb, 
he  said  to  himself,  and,  reigning  up  his  horse  and  speak- 
ing to  them,  he  heard  that  his  tomb  was  finished.  We've 
chiselled  a  great  stone  to  be  rolled  into  the  doorway,  he  heard 
one  of  the  masons  say;  another  uttered  vauntingly  that  the 
stone  closed  the  tomb  perfectly,  and  Joseph  was  about  to 
press  his  horse  forward  when  the  men  called  after  him,  and 
gathering  about  his  stirrup,  they  related  that  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth had  been  tried  and  condemned  by  Pilate  that  morning, 
and  was  now  hanging  on  a  cross,  a-top  of  Golgotha,  one  of 
the  masons  said  :  you  can  see  him  yourself.  Master,  if  you 
be  going  that  way,  and  between  two  thieves.  One  of  them 
was  to  have  been  Jesus  Bar-Abba,  but  the  people  cried  out 
that  he  was  to  be  released  instead  of  Jesus.     As  Joseph 

229 


230  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

repeated  the  words,  "  Bar-Abba  instead  of  Jesus,"  as  if  he  only 
half  understood  them,  the  masons  reminded  him  that  it  was 
the  custom  to  deliver  up  a  prisoner  to  the  people  at  the 
time  of  the  Passover.  At  the  time  of  the  Passover,  he  re- 
peated. ...  At  last,  realising  what  had  happened,  his 
face  became  overwrought ;  his  eyes  and  mouth  testified 
to  the  grief  he  was  suffering;  and  he  pressed  his  spurs  to 
his  horse's  side,  and  would  have  been  away  beyond  call  if 
two  of  his  workmen  had  not  seized  the  bridle  and  almost 
forced  the  horse  on  his  haunches.  Loose  my  bridle,  Joseph 
cried,  astonished  and  beside  himself.  A  moment  with  you. 
Master.  Be  careful  to  speak  no  word  in  his  favour,  and 
make  no  show  of  sympathy,  else  a  Zealot's  knife  will  be  in 
your  back  before  evening,  for  they  be  seeking  the  Galileans 
everywhere,  at  the  priests'  bidding.  Before  Joseph  could 
break  away  he  heard  that  the  priests  stirred  up  the  people 
against  Jesus,  giving  it  forth  against  him  that  he  had  come 
to  Jerusalem  to  burn  down  the  Temple,  and  would  set  up 
another —  built  without  the  help  of  hands,  of  what  materials 
he  did  not  know,  but  not  of  stones  nor  wood,  yet  a  Temple 
that  will  last  for  ever,  the  mason  shouted  after  Joseph,  who 
had  stuck  his  spurs  again  into  his  horse  and  was  riding  full  tilt 
towards  a  hill  about  half-a-mile  from  the  city  walls.  On  his 
way  thither  he  met  some  of  the  populace — the  remnant  return- 
ing from  the  crucifixion  —  and  he  rode  up  the  ascent  at  a  gallop 
in  the  hope  that  he  might  be  in  time  to  save  Jesus'  life. 

He  knew  Pilate  would  grant  him  almost  any  favour  he 
might  ask ;  but  within  fifty  yards  of  the  crosses  his  heart 
began  to  fail  him,  for,  whereas  the  thieves  were  straining 
their  heads  high  in  the  air  above  the  crossbar,  Jesus'  head 
was  sunk  on  to  his  chest.  He  died  a  while  ago,  the  centurion 
said,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  dead  the  multitude  began  to 
disperse,  the  Sabbath  being  at  hand ;  and  guessing  Joseph 
to  be  a  man  of  importance,  he  added ;  if  you  like  I'll  make 
certain  that  he  is  dead,  and,  taking  his  spear  from  one  of  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  231 

soldiers,  he  would  have  plunged  it  into  Jesus'  side,  but 
Joseph,  forgetful  of  the  warning  he  had  received,  on  no 
account  to  show  sympathy  with  Jesus,  laid  his  hand  on  the 
spear-head,  saying :  respect  the  dead.  As  you  will,  the 
centurion  replied,  and  gave  the  spear  back  to  the  soldier, 
who  returned  to  his  comrades,  it  being  his  turn  to  cast  the 
dice.  They  have  cast  dice,  the  centurion  continued,  and 
will  divide  the  clothes  of  these  men  amongst  them ;  and, 
hearing  the  words,  one  of  the  soldiers  held  up  the  rags  that 
had  come  to  him,  while  another  spread  upon  the  ground 
Jesus'  fine  cloak,  the  one  that  Peter  had  bought  for  Jesus 
with  money  that  Joseph  gave  to  him.  That  he  should  see 
the  cloak  again,  and  on  such  an  occasion,  touched  his  heart. 
It  was  a  humble  incident  in  a  cruel  murder  committed  by  a 
priest ;  and  the  thought  crossed  Joseph's  mind  that  he  might 
purchase  the  cloak  from  the  soldier,  but,  remembering  the 
warning  he  had  received,  he  did  not  ask  for  the  cloak,  nor  did 
he  once  lift  his  eyes  to  Jesus'  face,  lest  the  sight  of  it  should 
wring  his  heart,  and  being  overcome  and  helpless  with  grief, 
the  priests  and  their  hirelings  might  begin  to  suspect  him. 

He  strove  instead  to  call  reason  to  his  aid  :  Jesus'  life 
being  spent,  his  duty  was  to  obtain  the  body  and  bury  it : 
far  worse  than  the  death  he  endured  would  be  for  his  sacred 
body  to  be  thrown  into  the  common  ditch  with  these  male- 
factors. I  know  not  how  you  can  abide  here,  he  said  to  the 
centurion ;  their  groans  make  the  heart  faint.  We  shall 
break  their  bones  presently;  the  Jews  asked  us  to  do  this, 
for  at  six  o'clock  their  Sabbath  begins.  And  in  this  the 
thieves  are  lucky,  for  were  it  not  for  their  Sabbath  they 
would  last  on  for  three  or  four  days ;  the  first  day  is  the  worst 
day ;  afterwards  the  crucified  sinks  into  unconsciousness, 
and  I  doubt  if  he  suffers  at  all  on  the  third  day,  and  on  the 
fourth  day  he  dies.  But,  sir,  what  may  I  do  for  you  ?  I've 
come  for  the  body  of  this  man,  Joseph  answered ;  for,  how- 
ever erring,  he  was  not  a  thief,  and  deserves  decent  burial. 


232  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

You  can  come  with  me  to  testify  that  I've  buried  it  in  a 
rock  sepulchre,  the  stone  of  which  yourself  shall  roll  into  the 
door.  To  which  the  centurion  answered  that  he  did  not 
dare  to  deliver  up  the  body  of  Jesus  without  an  order  from 
Pilate,  though  he  was  dead.  Dead  an  hour  or  more,  truly 
dead,  he  added.  Pilate  will  not  refuse  his  body  to  me, 
Joseph  replied.  Pilate  and  I  are  well  acquainted ;  we  are 
as  friends  are;  you  must  have  seen  me  at  the  Praetorium 
before  now,  coming  to  talk  with  the  procurator  about  the 
transport  of  wheat  from  Moab,  and  other  things. 

These  words  filled  the  centurion  with  admiration,  and, 
afraid  to  seem  ignorant,  he  said  he  remembered  having 
seen  Joseph  and  knew  him  to  be  a  friend  of  Pilate.  Well, 
then,  come  with  me  at  once  to  Jerusalem,  Joseph  said 
coaxingly,  and  you'll  see  that  Pilate  will  order  thee  to 
deliver  the  dead  unto  me.  But  the  centurion  demurred, 
saying  that  his  orders  were  not  to  leave  the  gibbets.  Upon 
my  own  word,  Pilate  will  not  deliver  up  the  body  unless 
I  bring  you  with  me ;  I  shall  require  you  to  testify  of  the 
death.  So  come  with  me.  The  unwillingness  of  the  centu- 
rion was  reduced  to  naught  at  the  mention  of  a  sum  of  money, 
and,  giving  orders  to  his  soldiers  that  nothing  was  to  be  done 
during  his  absence,  he  walked  beside  Joseph's  horse  into 
Jerusalem,  telling  to  Joseph  as  they  went  the  story  of  the 
arrest  in  the  garden,  the  haling  of  Jesus  before  the  High 
Priest,  and  the  sending  of  him  on  to  Pilate,  who,  though  un- 
willing to  confirm  the  sentence  of  death,  was  afraid  of  a  riot, 
and  had  yielded  to  the  people's  wish.  The  account  of  the 
scourging  of  Jesus  in  the  hall  of  the  palace,  and  the  bribing 
of  the  soldiers  by  the  Jews  to  make  a  mocking-stock  of  Jesus, 
was  not  finished  when  Joseph,  who  had  been  listening  without 
hearing,  said  :   here  is  the  door. 

And  while  they  waited  for  the  door  to  be  opened,  and 
after  the  doorkeeper  had  opened  it,  the  centurion  continued 
to  tell  his  tale :   how  a  purple  cloak  was  thrown  upon  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  233 

shoulders  of  Jesus,  a  reed  put  into  his  hand,  and  a  crown  of 
thorns  pressed  upon  his  forehead.  We  wondered  how  it  was 
that  he  said  nothing.  We  have  come  to  see  his  worship, 
Joseph  interrupted ;  and  the  doorkeeper,  who  knew  Joseph 
to  be  a  friend  of  Pilate,  was  embarrassed,  for  Pilate  had  sent 
down  an  order  that  he  would  see  no  one  again  that  day; 
but,  like  the  centurion,  he  was  amenable  to  money,  and  con- 
sented to  take  in  Joseph's  name.  There  was  no  need  to  give 
him  money,  he  would  not  have  dared  to  refuse  Pilate's  friend, 
the  centurion  said  as  they  waited. 

Word  came  back  quickly  that  Joseph  was  to  be  admitted, 
and  after  begging  Pilate  to  forgive  him  for  intruding  upon 
his  privacy  so  late  in  the  day,  he  put  his  request  into  words, 
saying  straight  away :  I  have  come  to  ask  for  the  body  of 
Jesus,  who  was  condemned  to  the  cross  at  noon.  At  these 
words  Pilate's  face  became  overcast,  and  he  said  that  he  re- 
gretted that  Joseph  had  come  to  ask  him  for  something  he 
could  not  grant.  It  would  have  been  pleasant  to  leave 
Jerusalem  knowing  that  I  never  refused  you  anything, 
Joseph,  for  you  are  the  one  Jew  for  whom  I  have  any  respect, 
and,  I  may  add,  some  affection.  But  why,  Pilate,  cannot 
you  give  me  Jesus'  body  ?  His  body,  is  that  what  you  ask 
for,  Joseph  ?  It  seemed  to  me  that  you  had  come  to  ask  me 
to  undo  the  sentence  that  I  pronounced  to-day  at  noon. 
The  body !  Is  Jesus  dead  then  ?  The  centurion  answered 
for  Joseph  :  yes,  sir ;  he  died  to-day  at  the  ninth  hour.  I  put 
a  lance  into  him  to  make  sure,  and  blood  and  water  came  from 
his  side.  At  which  statement  Joseph  trembled,  for  he  was 
acquiescing  in  a  lie;  but  he  did  not  dare  to  contradict  the 
centurion,  who  was  speaking  in  his  favor  for  the  sake  of  the 
money  he  had  received,  and  in  the  hope  of  receiving  more 
for  the  lie  that  he  told.  On  the  cross  at  noon  and  dead  be- 
fore the  ninth  hour !  Pilate  muttered  :  he  could  bear  the 
cross  but  for  three  hours  !  After  the  scourging  we  gave  him, 
sir,  the  centurion  answered,  he  was  so  weak  and  feeble  that 


234  ™E   BROOK   KERITH 

we  had  to  pass  on  his  cross  to  the  shoulders  of  a  Jew  named 
Simon  of  Cyrene,  who  carried  it  to  the  top  of  the  mount  for 
him.  If  he  be  dead  there  is  no  reason  for  my  not  giving  up 
the  body,  Pilate  answered.  Which  I  shall  bury,  Joseph  re- 
plied, in  my  own  sepulchre.  What,  Joseph,  have  you  already 
ordered  your  sepulchre  ?  To  my  eyes  you  do  not  look  more 
than  five  or  six  and  twenty  years,  and  to  my  eyes  you  look  as 
if  you  would  live  for  sixty  more  years  at  least ;  but  you  Jews 
never  lose  sight  of  death,  as  if  it  were  the  only  good.  We 
Romans  think  so  too  sometimes,  but  not  so  frequently  as  you. 

And  then  this  tall,  grave,  handsome  man,  whose  face 
reflected  a  friendly  but  somewhat  formal  soul,  took  Joseph 
by  the  arm  and  walked  with  him  up  and  down  the  tessel- 
lated pavement,  talking  in  his  ear,  showing  himself  so  well 
disposed  towards  him  that  the  centurion  congratulated  him- 
self that  he  had  accepted  Joseph's  bribe.     If  I  had  only 

known  that  you  were  a  close  friend,  Pilate  said  to  Joseph 

but  if  I  had  known  as  much  it  would  only  have  made  things 
more  difficult  for  me.  A  remarkable  man.  And  now,  on 
thinking  it  over,  it  must  have  been  that  I  was  well  disposed 
to  him  for  that  reason,  for  there  could  have  been  no  other; 
for  what  concern  of  mine  is  it  that  you  Jews  quarrel  and 
would  tear  each  other  to  pieces  for  your  various  beliefs  in 
God  and  his  angels  ?  So  Jesus  was  your  friend.  Tell  me 
about  him ;  I  would  know  more  about  him  than  I  could  learn 
from  a  brief  interview  with  him  in  the  Praetorium,  where  I 
took  him  and  talked  to  him  alone.  A  brief  account  I  pray 
you  give  me.  And  Joseph,  who  was  thinking  all  the  while 
that  the  Sabbath  was  approaching,  gave  to  Pilate  some  brief 
account  of  Jesus  in  Galilee. 

So  you  too,  Joseph,  are  susceptible  to  this  belief  that 
the  bodies  of  men  are  raised  out  of  the  earth  into  Heaven  f 
I  would  ask  you  if  the  body  is  ridded  of  its  worms  before 
it  is  carried  away  by  angels.  But  I  see  that  you  are  pressed 
for  time ;   the  Sabbath  approaches ;    I  must  not  detain  you, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  235 

and  yet  I  would  not  let  you  go  without  telling  you  that  it 
pleases  me  to  give  his  body  for  burial.  A  body  deserves 
burial  that  has  been  possessed  by  a  lofty  soul,  for  how  many 
years,  thirty  ?  I  would  have  saved  him  if  it  had  been  possible 
to  do  so ;  but  he  gave  me  no  chance ;  his  answers  were  brief 
and  evasive ;  and  he  seemed  to  desire  death ;  seemingly  he 
looked  upon  his  death  as  necessary  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  mission.  Have  I  divined  him  right .''  Joseph  answered 
that  Pilate  read  Jesus'  soul  truly,  which  flattered  Pilate  and 
persuaded  him  into  further  complaint  that  if  he  had  not 
saved  Jesus  it  was  because  Jesus  would  not  answer  him.  He 
seemed  to  me  like  a  man  only  conscious  of  his  own  thoughts, 
Pilate  said ;  even  while  speaking  he  seemed  to  rouse  hardly 
at  all  out  of  his  dream,  a  delirious  dream,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
of  the  world  redeemed  from  the  powers  of  evil  and  given  over 
to  the  love  of  God.  This,  however,  he  did  say  :  that  any 
power  which  I  might  have  over  him  came  to  me  from  above, 
from  his  Father  which  is  in  Heaven,  else  I  could  do  nothing; 
and  there  was  bitterness  in  his  voice  as  he  spoke  these  words, 
which  seemed  to  suggest  that  he  was  of  opinion  that  his 
Father  had  gone  a  little  too  far  in  allowing  the  Jews  to  send 
him  to  me  to  condemn  to  death. 

His  Father  in  Heaven  and  himself  are  one,  and  yet  they 
differ  in  this.  So  he  was  your  friend,  Joseph.  If  I  had 
known  it  there  would  have  been  an  additional  reason  for  my 
trying  to  save  him  from  the  hatred  of  the  Jews;  for  I  hate 
the  Jews,  and  would  willingly  leave  them  to-morrow.  But 
they  cried  out :  you  are  not  Caesar's  friend ;  this  man  would 
set  up  a  new  kingdom  and  overthrow  the  Romans :  and,  as 
I  have  already  told  you,  Joseph,  I  asked  Jesus  if  he  claimed 
to  be  King  of  the  Jews,  but  he  answered  me  :  you  have  said 
it,  adding,  however,  that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world. 
Evasive  answers  of  that  kind  are  worthless  when  a  mob  is 
surging  round  the  Prastorium.  A  hateful  crowd  they  looked 
to  me ;   a  cruel,  rapacious,  vindictive  crowd,  with  nothing  in 


236  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

their  minds  but  hatred.  I  suspect  they  hated  him  for  reli- 
gious reasons.  You  Jews  are  —  forgive  me,  Joseph,  you  are 
an  exception  among  your  people  —  a  bitter,  intolerant  race. 
You  would  not  allow  me  to  bring  the  Roman  eagles  to  Jeru- 
salem, for  you  cannot  look  upon  graven  things.  All  the  arts 
you  have  abolished,  and  your  love  of  God  resolves  itself  into 
hatred  of  men ;  so  it  seems  to  me.  It  would  have  pleased 
me  very  well  indeed  to  have  thwarted  the  Jews  in  their  desire 
for  this  man's  life,  but  I  was  threatened  by  a  revolt,  and  the 
soldiers  at  my  command  are  but  auxiliaries,  and  not  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  quell  a  substantial  riot.  I  will  tell  you  more  : 
if  the  legion  that  I  was  promised  had  arrived  from  Caesarea 
the  lust  of  the  Jews  for  the  blood  of  those  that  disagree  with 
them  would  not  have  been  satisfied.  I  went  so  far  as  to  send 
messengers  to  inquire  for  the  legion.  But  the  man  is  dead 
now,  and  further  talking  will  not  raise  him  into  life  again. 
You  have  come  to  ask  me  for  his  body,  and  you  would  bury 
it  in  your  own  tomb.  It  is  like  you,  Joseph,  to  wish  to  honour 
your  dead  friend.  Methinks  you  are  more  Roman  than  Jew. 
Say  not  so  in  the  hearing  of  my  countrymen,  Joseph  replied, 
or  I  may  meet  my  death  for  your  good  opinion. 

The  Sabbath  is  now  approaching,  and  you'll  forgive  me 
if  I  indulge  in  no  further  words  of  thanks,  Pilate.  I  may 
not  delay,  lest  the  hour  should  come  upon  me  after  which 
no  work  can  be  done.  Not  that  I  hold  with  such  strict 
observances.  A  good  work  done  upon  the  Sabbath  must  be 
viewed  more  favourably  by  God  than  a  bad  work  done  on 
another  day  of  the  week.  But  I  would  not  have  it  said  that 
I  violated  the  Sabbath  to  bury  Jesus.  As  you  will,  my  good 
Joseph,  Pilate  said,  and  stood  looking  after  Joseph  and  the 
centurion,  who,  as  they  drew  near  to  the  gate  of  the  city, 
remembered  that  a  sheet  would  be  wanted  to  wrap  the  body 
in.  Joseph  answered  the  centurion  that  there  was  no  time 
for  delay,  but  the  centurion  replied  :  in  yon  shop  sheets  are 
sold.     Moreover,  you  will  want  a  lantern,  sir,  for  the  lifting 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  237 

of  the  body  from  the  cross  will  take  some  time,  and  the 
carrying  of  it  to  the  tomb  will  be  a  slow  journey  for  you 
though  you  get  help,  and  the  day  will  be  gone  when  you  ar- 
rive. .  You  had  better  buy  a  lantern,  sir.  Joseph  did  as  he 
was  bidden,  and  they  hurried  on  to  Golgotha. 

Nothing  has  been  done  in  my  absence  ?  the  centurion 
asked  the  soldiers,  who  answered :  nothing,  sir ;  and  none 
has  been  here  but  these  women,  whom  we  did  not  drive  away, 
but  told  that  you  were  gone  with  one  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
to  get  an  order  from  Pilate  for  the  body.  That  was  well, 
the  centurion  answered.  And  now  do  you  loose  the  cords 
that  bind  the  hands,  and  get  the  dead  man  down.  Which 
was  easy  to  accomplish,  the  feet  of  the  crucified  being  no 
more  than  a  few  inches  from  the  ground ;  and  while  this 
was  being  done  Joseph  told  the  centurion  that  the  women 
were  the  sisters  of  Lazarus,  whom  Jesus  had  raised  from  the 
dead  ;  a  story  that  set  the  Roman  soldiers  laughing.  Can  a 
man  be  raised  from  the  dead  ?  they  asked ;  and  if  this  man 
could  do  such  a  thing  how  is  it  that  he  did  not  raise  himself 
out  of  death  into  life  ?  To  which  neither  Joseph  nor  the 
two  women  made  any  answer,  but  stood,  their  eyes  fixed  on 
their  thoughts,  asking  themselves  how  they  were  to  carry 
Jesus  to  the  sepulchre,  distant  about  a  mile  and  a  half. 
And  it  not  seeming  to  them  that  they  could  carry  the  body, 
the  centurion  offered  Joseph  the  help  of  one  of  his  soldiers, 
which  they  would  have  accepted,  but  at  that  moment  an  ox- 
cart was  perceived  hastening  home  in  the  dusk.  Joseph, 
going  after  the  carrier,  offered  him  money  if  he  would  bring 
the  body  of  one  of  the  crucified  to  the  sepulchre  in  Mount 
Scropas  for  him.  To  which  the  carrier  consented,  though  he 
was  not  certain  that  the  job  might  not  prevent  him  from  get- 
ting home  before  the  Sabbath  began.  But  he  would  see  what 
could  be  done. 

Jesus  was  laid  on  the  ox-cart,  and  Mary,  Martha  and 
Joseph  following  it  reached  Mount  Scropas,  in  which  was 


238  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

the  tomb,  before  sunset.  As  I  told  thee,  with  half-an-hour 
for  thee  to  get  home  before  the  Sabbath,  Joseph  said  to  the 
carrier,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  descending  sun.  Now  take 
this  man  by  the  feet  and  I'll  take  him  by  the  head.  But 
will  you  not  light  the  lantern,  sir  ?  the  carrier  said ;  for 
though  there  be  light  on  the  hillside,  it  will  be  night  in  the 
tomb,  and  we  shall  be  jostling  our  heads  against  the  stone 
and  perhaps  falling  over  the  dead  man.  ...  I  have  steel 
and  tinder.  Wherefrom  the  lantern  was  lit  and  given  to 
Martha,  who  lighted  them  into  the  tomb,  Joseph  and  the 
carrier  bearing  the  body,  with  Mary  following. 

Jesus  was  laid  on  the  couch  beneath  the  arch,  and  when 
Mary  and  Martha  had  drawn  the  sheet  over  his  face  Joseph 
turned  to  the  women,  saying :  now  do  you  go  hence  to 
Bethany  and  prepare  spices  and  cloths  for  the  embalmment, 
and  come  hither  with  them  in  the  early  morning  the  day 
after  the  Sabbath.  The  carrier,  who  was  standing  by  wait- 
ing for  his  wage,  received  it  thankfully.  Now,  Master,  if 
you  want  another  shoulder  to  help  with  that  sealing  stone, 
I  can  give  it  you.  But  Joseph,  looking  at  the  stone,  said  it 
would  offer  no  trouble  to  him,  for  he  believed  in  his  strength 
to  do  it,  though  the  carrier  said  :  it  looks  as  if  two  men,  or 
more  like  three,  would  be  needed.  But  it  is  as  you  like, 
Master.  On  this  he  went  to  his  oxen,  thinking  of  the  Sab- 
bath, and  whether  Joseph  had  forgotten  how  near  it  was  to 
them.  He  hasn't  blown  out  his  lantern  yet.  My  word, 
he  be  going  back  into  the  tomb,  the  carrier  said ;  maybe  he's 
forgotten  something,  or  maybe  to  have  a  last  look  at  his 
friend.  He  talks  like  one  in  a  dream,  or  one  that  hadn't 
half  recovered  his  wits. 

And  it  was  just  in  the  mood  which  the  carrier  divined 
that  Joseph  entered  the  tomb :  life  had  been  coming  and 
going  like  a  dream  ever  since  he  met  the  masons;  and  asking 
himself  if  he  were  truly  awake  and  in  his  five  senses,  he 
returned  to  bid  Jesus  a  last  farewell,  though  he  would  not 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  239 

have  been  astonished  if  he  sought  him  in  vain  through  the 
darkness  filled  with  the  dust  of  freshly  cut  stones  and  the 
smell  thereof.  But  Jesus  was  where  they  had  laid  him ; 
and  Joseph  sate  himself  by  the  dead  Master's  side,  so  that 
he  might  meditate  and  come  to  see  better  into  the  meanings 
of  things,  for  all  meaning  seemed  to  have  gone  out  of  life 
for  him  since  he  had  come  up  from  Jericho.  The  flickering 
shadows  and  lights  distracted  his  meditation,  and  set  him 
thinking  of  the  masons  and  their  pride  in  their  work;  he 
looked  round  the  sepulchre  and  perceived  it  to  be  a  small 
chamber  with  a  couch  at  the  farther  end.  .  .  .  Martha  and 
Mary  have  gone,  he  said  to  himself,  and  he  remembered  he 
had  bidden  them  go  hence  to  prepare  spices,  and  to  return 
after  the  Sabbath.  Which  they  will  do  as  soon  as  the 
Sabbath  is  over,  he  repeated  to  himself,  as  if  to  convince 
himself  that  he  was  not  dreaming.  .  .  .  God  did  not  save 
him  in  the  end  as  he  expected  he  would,  he  continued  :  he'd 
have  done  better  to  have  given  Pilate  answers  whereby 
Pilate  would  have  been  able  to  save  him  from  the  cross. 
Pilate  was  anxious  to  save  him,  but,  as  Nicodemus  said, 
Jesus  had  come  to  think  that  it  had  been  decreed  in  heaven 
that  his  blood  must  be  spilt,  so  that  he  might  rise  again 
as  it  were,  out  of  his  own  blood,  to  return  in  a  chariot  with 
his  Father  in  three  days.  .  .  .  But  will  he  return  to  inhabit 
again  this  beautiful  mould .?  Joseph  asked,  and  striving 
against  the  doubt  that  the  sight  of  the  dead  put  into  his 
mind,  he  left  the  tomb  with  the  intention  of  rolling  the  stone 
into  the  door.  Better  not  to  see  him  than  to  doubt  him,  he 
said.  But  who  will,  he  asked  himself,  roll  away  the  stone  for 
Martha  and  Mary  when  they  come  with  spices  and  fine 
linen  for  the  embalming  ?  His  mind  was  divided  whether 
he  should  close  the  tomb  and  go  his  way,  or  watch  through 
the  Sabbath,  and  while  seeking  to  come  upon  a  resolve  he 
was  overcome  by  desire  to  see  his  dead  friend  once  more, 
and  he  entered  the  tomb,  holding  high  the  lantern  so  that 


240  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

he  might  better  see  him.  But  as  he  approached  the  couch 
on  which  the  body  lay  he  stopped,  and  the  colour  went 
out  of  his  face ;  he  trembled  all  over ;  for  the  sheet  with 
which  Martha  and  Mary  covered  over  the  face  had  fallen 
away,  and  a  long  tress  of  hair  had  dropped  across  the  cheek. 
He  must  have  moved,  or  angels  must  have  moved  him,  and, 
uncertain  whether  Jesus  was  alive  or  dead,  Joseph  remem- 
bered Lazarus,  and  stood  watching,  cold  and  frightened, 
waiting  for  some  movement. 

He  is  not  dead,  he  is  not  dead,  he  cried,  and  his  joy  died, 
for  on  the  instant  Jesus  passed  again  into  the  darkness  of 
swoon.  Joseph  had  no  water  to  bathe  his  forehead  with 
nor  even  a  drop  to  wet  his  lips  with.  There  is  none  nearer 
than  my  house,  he  said.  I  shall  have  to  carry  him  thither. 
But  if  a  wayfarer  meets  us  the  news  that  a  man  newly  risen 
from  the  tomb  was  seen  on  the  hillside  with  another  will 
soon  reach  Jerusalem ;  and  the  Pharisees  will  send  soldiers 
.  .  .  The  tomb  will  be  violated ;  the  houses  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood will  be  searched.  Why  then  did  he  awaken  only 
to  be  taken  again  ?  Jesus  lay  as  still  as  the  dead,  and  hope 
came  again  to  Joseph.  On  a  Sabbath  evening,  he  said,  I 
shall  be  able  to  carry  him  to  my  house  secretly.  The  dis- 
tance is  about  half-a-mile.  But  to  carry  a  swooning  man 
half-a-mile  up  a  crooked  and  steep  path  among  rocks  will 
take  all  my  strength. 

He  took  cognisance  of  his  thews  and  sinews,  and  feeling 
them  to  be  strong  and  like  iron,  he  said :  I  can  do  it,  and 
fell  to  thinking  of  his  servants  loitering  in  the  passages,  talk- 
ing as  they  ascended  the  stairs,  stopping  half-way  and  talking 
again,  and  getting  to  bed  slowly,  more  slowly  than  ever  on 
this  night,  the  night  of  all  others  that  he  wished  them  sound 
asleep  in  their  beds.  Half-a-mile  up  a  zigzagging  path  I 
shall  have  to  carry  him;  he  may  die  in  my  arms;  and  he 
entertained  the  thought  for  a  moment  that  he  might  go  for 
his  servants,  who  would  bring  with  them  oil  and  wine ;    but 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  241 

dismissing  the  thought  as  unwise,  he  left  the  tomb  to  see  if 
the  darkness  were  thick  enough  to  shelter  himself  and  his 
burden. 

But  Jesus  might  pass  away  in  his  swoon.  If  he  had  some 
water  to  give  him.  But  he  had  none,  and  he  sat  by  the 
couch  waiting  for  Jesus  to  open  his  eyes.  At  last  he  opened 
them. 

The  twilight  had  vanished  and  the  stars  were  coming  out, 
and  Joseph  said  to  himself:  there  will  be  no  moon,  only  a 
soft  starlight,  and  he  stood  gazing  at  the  desert  showing 
through  a  great  tide  of  blue  shadow,  the  shape  of  the  hills 
emerging,  like  the  hulls  of  great  ships  afloat  in  a  shadowy 
sea.  A  dark,  close,  dusty  night,  he  said,  and  moonless,  de- 
serted by  every  man  and  woman ;  a  Sabbath  night.  On 
none  other  would  it  be  possible.  But  thinking  that  some 
hours  would  have  to  pass  before  he  dared  to  enter  his  gates 
with  Jesus  on  his  shoulder,  he  seated  himself  on  the  great 
stone.  Though  Jesus  were  to  die  for  lack  of  succour  he 
must  wait  till  his  servants  were  in  bed  asleep.  And  then  ? 
The  stone  on  which  he  was  sitting  must  be  rolled  into'  the 
entrance  of  the  tomb  before  leaving.  He  had  told  the 
carrier  that  he  would  have  no  trouble  with  it,  and  to  dis- 
cover that  he  had  not  boasted  he  slid  down  the  rock,  and, 
putting  his  shoulder  to  it,  found  he  could  move  it,  for  the 
ground  was  aslant,  and  if  he  were  to  remove  some  rubble 
the  stone  would  itself  roll  into  the  entrance  of  the  tomb. 
But  he  hadn't  known  this  when  he  refused  the  carrier's  help. 
Then  why  ?  .  .  .  To  pass  away  the  time  he  fell  to  thinking 
that  he  had  refused  the  carrier's  aid  because  of  some  thought 
of  which  he  wasn't  very  conscious  at  the  time;  that  he  had 
been  appointed  watcher,  and  that  his  watch  extended  through 
the  night,  and  through  the  next  day  and  night,  until  Mary 
and  Martha  came  with  spices  and  linen  cloths. 

The  cycle  of  his  thoughts  was  brought  to  a  close  and 
with  a  sudden  jerk  by  some  memory  of  his  maybe  dying 

R 


242  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

friend ;  and  in  his  grief  he  found  no  better  solace  than  to 
gaze  at  the  stars,  now  thickly  sown  in  the  sky,  and  to  at- 
tempt to  decipher  their  conjunctions  and  oppositions,  trying 
to  pick  out  a  prophecy  in  heaven  of  what  was  happening  on 
earth. 

His  star-gazing  was  interrupted  suddenly  by  a  bark.  A 
jackal,  he  said.  Other  jackals  answered  the  first  bark; 
the  hillside  seemed  to  be  filled  with  them ;  but,  however 
numerous,  he  could  scare  them  away ;  a  wandering  hyena 
scenting  a  dead  body  would  be  more  dangerous,  for  he  was 
weaponless.  But  it  was  seldom  that  one  ventured  into  the 
environs  of  the  city;  and  he  listened  to  the  jackals,  and 
they  kept  him  awake  till  something  in  the  air  told  him  the 
hour  had  come  for  him  to  go  into  the  tomb  and  carry  Jesus 
out  of  it  ...  if  he  were  not  dead.  He  slid  down  from 
the  rock  again,  and  no  sooner  did  he  reach  the  ground  than 
he  remembered  having  left  Galilee  to  keep  his  promise  to 
his  father ;  but,  despite  his  obedience  to  his  father's  will,  he 
had  not  escaped  his  fate.  In  vain  he  avoided  the  Temple 
and  refused  to  enter  the  house  of  Simon  the  Leper.  ...  If 
he  were  to  take  Jesus  to  his  house  and  hide  him  he  would 
become  a  party  to  Jesus'  crime,  and  were  Jesus  discovered  in 
his  house  the  angry  Pharisees  would  demand  their  death 
from  Pilate.  If  he  would  escape  the  doom  of  the  cross  he 
must  roll  the  stone  up  into  the  entrance  of  the  sepulchre. 
...  A  dying  man  perceives  no  difference  between  a  sepul- 
chre and  a  dwelling-house.  He  would  be  dead  before  morn- 
ing ;  before  the  Sabbath  was  done  for  certain ;  and  Mary 
and  Martha  would  begin  the  embalmment  on  Sunday.  He 
would  be  dead  certainly  on  Sunday  morning,  and  dead  men 
tell  no  tales,  so  they  say.  But  do  they  say  truly  ?  The 
dead  are  voiceless,  but  they  speak,  and  are  closer  to  us  than 
the  living ;  and  for  ever  the  spectre  of  that  man  would  be 
by  him,  making  frightful  every  hour  of  his  life.  Yet  by 
closing  up  the  sepulchre  and  leaving  Jesus  to  die  in  it  he  would 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  243 

be  serving  him  better  than  by  carrying  him  to  his  house  and 
bringing  him  back  to  Ufe.  To  what  life  was  he  bringing 
him  ?  He  could  not  be  kept  hidden  for  long ;  he  could  not 
remain  in  Jerusalem,  and  whither  Jesus  went  Joseph  would 
follow,  and  his  bond  to  his  father  would  be  broken  then  in 
spirit  as  well  as  in  fact.  A  cold  sweat  broke  out  on  his  fore- 
head and  for  a  long  time  his  mind  seemed  like  a  broken 
thing  and  the  pieces  scattered ;  and,  as  much  exhausted  as  if 
he  had  carried  Jesus  a  mile  on  his  shoulders,  he  stooped 
forward  and  entered  the  tomb,  without  certain  knowledge 
whether  he  was  going  to  kiss  Jesus  and  close  the  tomb 
upon  him  or  carry  him  to  his  house  about  a  half  an  hour 
distant. 

As  he  drew  the  cere-clothes  from  the  body,  a  vision  of 
his  house  rose  up  in  his  mind  —  a  large  two-storeyed  house 
with  a  domed  roof,  situated  on  a  large  vineyard  on  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  screened  from  the  highway  by 
hedges  of  carob,  olive  garths  and  cedars.  And  this  house 
seemed  to  Joseph  as  if  designed  by  Providence  for  the  con- 
cealment of  Jesus.  The  only  way,  he  muttered,  will  be  to 
lift  him  upon  my  shoulders,  getting  the  weight  as  far  as  I 
can  from  off  my  arms.  If  he  could  walk  a  little  supported 
on  my  arm.  He  questioned  Jesus,  but  Jesus  could  not  answer 
him ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  way  but  to  carry  him 
in  his  arms  out  of  the  tomb,  place  him  on  the  rock,  and  from 
thence  hoist  him  on  to  his  shoulders. 

Jesus  was  carried  more  easily  than  bethought  for,  as  easily 
carried  as  a  child  for  the  first  hundred  yards,  nor  did  he 
weigh  much  heavier  for  the  next,  but  before  three  hundred 
yards  were  over  Joseph  began  to  look  round  for  a  rock  against 
which  he  might  rest  his  burden. 

One  of  the  hardships  of  this  journey  was  that  howsoever 
he  held  Jesus  he  seemed  to  cause  him  great  pain,  and  he 
guessed  by  the  feel  that  the  body  was  wounded  in  many 
places ;    but  the  stars  did  not  show  sufficient  light  for  him 


244  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

to  see  where  not  to  grasp  It,  and  he  sat  in  the  pathway, 
resting  Jesus  across  his  knees,  thinking  of  a  large  rock  within 
sight  of  his  own  gates  and  how  he  would  lean  Jesus  against 
it,  if  he  managed  to  carry  him  so  far.  He  stopped  at  sight 
of  something,  something  seemed  to  slink  through  the  pale, 
diffused  shadows  in  and  out  of  the  rocks  up  the  hillside,  and 
Joseph  thought  of  a  midnight  wolf.     The  wolves  did  not 

venture  as  near  the  city,  but Whatever  Joseph  saw 

with  his  eyes,  or  fancied  he  saw,  did  not  appear  again,  and 
he  picked  up  his  load,  thinking  of  the  hopeless  struggle  it 
would  be  between  him  and  a  grey  wolf  burdened  as  he  was. 
He  could  not  do  else  than  leave  Jesus  to  be  eaten,  and  his 
fear  of  wolf  and  hyena  so  exhausted  him  that  he  nearly 
toppled  at  the  next  halt.  A  fall  would  be  fatal  to  Jesus,  and 
Joseph  asked  himself  how  he  would  lift  Jesus  on  to  his 
shoulder  again.  He  did  not  think  that  he  could  manage  it, 
but  he  did,  and  staggered  to  the  gates ;  but  no  sooner  had  he 
laid  his  burden  down  than  he  remembered  that  he  could 
not  ascend  the  stairs  without  noise.  The  gardener's  cottage 
is  empty ;  I  will  carry  him  thither.  The  very  place,  Joseph 
said  as  he  paused  for  breath  by,  the  gate-post.  I  must  send 
away  the  two  men-servants,  he  continued,  one  to  Galilee 
and  the  other  to  Jericho.  The  truth  cannot  be  kept  from 
Esora.  I  need  her  help  :  I  can  depend  upon  her  to  cure  Jesus 
of  his  wounds  and  keep  the  young  girl  in  the  house,  forbidding 
her  the  garden  while  Jesus  is  in  the  cottage.  The  danger  of 
dismissal  would  be  too  great,  she  would  carry  the  story 
or  part  of  it  to  Jerusalem,  it  would  spread  like  oil,  and  in 
a  few  days,  in  a  few  weeks  certainly,  the  Pharisees  would 
be  sending  their  agents  to  search  the  house.  With  Jesus 
hoisted  on  to  his  shoulder  he  followed  the  path  through  the 
trees  round  the  shelving  lawn  and  crossed  the  terrace  at  the 
bottom  of  the  garden.  He  had  then  to  follow  a  twisting 
path  through  a  little  wood,  and  he  feared  to  bump  Jesus 
against  the  trees.     The  path  led  down  into  a  dell,  and  he 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  245 

could  hardly  bear  up,  so  steep  was  the  ascent ;  his  breath  and 
strength  were  gone  when  he  came  to  the  cottage  door. 

Fortune  seems  to  be  with  us,  as  he  carried  Jesus  through 
the  doorway,  but  he  must  have  a  bed,  and  fortune  is  still 
with  us,  they  haven't  removed  the  bed  ;  and  as  soon  as  Jesus 
was  laid  upon  it  he  began  to  remember  many  things.  He 
must  go  to  the  house  and  get  a  lamp,  and  in  the  house  he 
remembered  that  he  must  bring  some  wine  and  some  water. 
He  noticed  that  his  hand  and  his  sleeve  were  stained  with 
blood.  He  must  have  been  badly  scourged,  he  said,  and 
continued  his  search  for  bottles,  and  after  mixing  wine  and 
water  he  returned  to  the  gardener's  cottage,  hoping  that 
casual  ministrations  would  relieve  Jesus  of  some  of  the  pain 
he  was  suffering  till  Esora  would  come  with  her  more  serious 
remedies  in  the  morning. 

He  put  the  lamp  on  a  chair  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bed 
and  turned  Jesus  over  and  began  to  pick  out  of  the  wounds 
the  splinters  of  the  rods  he  had  been  beaten  with,  and  after 
binding  up  the  back  with  a  linen  cloth  he  drew  Jesus'  head 
forward  and  managed  to  get  him  to  swallow  a  little  wine  and 
water,  I  can  do  no  more,  he  said,  and  must  leave  him.  .  .  . 
It  will  be  better  to  lock  the  door;  he  must  bide  there 
till  I  hear  Esora  on  the  stairs  coming  down  from  her  room. 
She  is  always  -out  of  bed  first,  and  if  luck  is  still  with  us  she 
will  rise  early  this  morning. 

He  tried  to  check  his  thoughts,  but  they  ran  on  till  he 
remembered  that  he  must  fetch  the  lantern  forgotten  among 
the  rocks,  and  that  he  should  follow  the  twisting  path  up 
and  down  the  hillside  seemed  more  than  he  could  accomplish. 
Strength  and  will  seemed  to  have  departed  from  him ;  yet 
he  must  go  back  to  fetch  the  lantern.  He  had  left  it  lighted, 
and  some  curious  person  might  be  led  by  the  light  .  .  .  the 
open  sepulchre  would  attract  his  eye,  and  he  might  take  up 
the  light  and  discover  the  tomb  to  be  empty.  It  wasn't 
likely,  but  some  such  curious  one  might  be  on  the  prowl. 


246  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

Now  was  the  only  safe  time  to  fetch  the  lantern.  He  daren't 
leave  it,  .  .  .  At  the  first  light  Mary  and  Martha  would  be 
at  the  sepulchre,  and  the  finding  of  a  lantern  by  the  door  of 

the  empty  sepulchre  would  give  rise  to 

He  passed  through  his  gates,  locking  them  after  him,  too 
weary  to  think  further  what  might  and  might  not  befall. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

AND  when  he  returned  with  the  lantern  he  had  forgotten 
he  threw  himself  on  his  bed,  remembering  that  he  must  not 
sleep,  for  to  miss  Esora  as  she  came  downstairs  would  mean 
to  leave  Jesus  in  pain  longer  than  he  need  be  left.  But  sleep 
closed  his  eyelids.  Sleep  !  He  did  not  know  if  he  had  slept. 
The  room  was  still  quite  dark,  and  Esora  did  not  come  down 
till  dawn ;  and,  sitting  up  in  his  bed,  he  said  :  God  saved 
him  from  death,  or  raised  him  out  of  death,  but  he  has  not 
raised  him  yet  into  heaven.  He  is  in  the  gardener's  cottage  ! 
If  only  Esora  can  cure  him  of  his  wounds,  he  continued,  he 
and  I  might  live  together  in  this  garden  happily. 

He  closed  his  eyes  so  that  he  might  enjoy  his  dream  of 
Jesus'  companionship,  but  fell  into  a  deeper  sleep,  from  which 
he  was  awakened  by  the  sound  of  footsteps  on  the  stairs.  It 
is  Esora  trying  to  descend  without  awakening  me,  he  said. 
But  nobody  was  on  the  stairs,  and  he  stood  listening  on  the 
landing,  asking  himself  if  Esora  was  at  work  so  early.  And 
then  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  hear  somebody  in  her 
pantry.  .  .  .  To  make  sure  he  descended  and  found  her 
before  her  table  brushing  the  clothes  he  had  thrown  off.  You 
must  have  been  in  my  room  and  picked  up  my  clothes  without 
my  hearing  you,  he  said ;  it  was  not  till  you  were  on  the 
second  flight  of  stairs  that  I  awoke.  I  didn't  know  that  you 
rose  so  early,  Esora.  It  is  still  dusk.  And  if  I  didn't. 
Master,  I  don't  know  how  the  work  would  get  done.  But 
the  Sabbath,  Joseph  rejoined ;  and  incontinently  began  to 
discuss  the  observances  of  the  Sabbath  with  her.  But  even 
on  the  Sabbath  there  is  work  to  be  done,  she  answered ; 

247 


248  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

your  clothes  —  a  nice  state  you  brought  them  home  in,  and 
if  they  were  not  cleaned  for  you,  you  could  not  present 
yourself  in  the  synagogue  to-day.  But,  Esora,  Joseph 
answered  faintly,  I  don't  see  why  you  should  be  up  and  at 
work  at  this  hour  and  that  girl,  Matred,  still  asleep.  Does 
she  never  help  you  in  your  work  ?  Esora  muttered  something 
that  Joseph  did  not  hear,  and  in  answer  to  his  question  why 
she  did  not  rouse  Matred  from  her  bed  she  said  that  the  young 
require  more  sleep  than  the  old;  an  answer  that  surprised 
Joseph,  for  he  had  never  been  able  to  rid  himself  of  his  first 
impression  of  Esora.  He  remembered  when  he  was  a  child 
how  he  hated  her  long  nose,  her  long  yellow  neck  and  her 
doleful  voice  always  crying  out  against  somebody,  her  son, 
her  kitchen-maid,  or  Joseph  himself.  She  used  to  turn  him 
out  of  her  kitchen  and  larder  and  dairy,  saying  that  his  place 
was  upstairs,  and  once  raised  her  hand  to  him ;  later  she 
had  complained  to  his  father  of  his  thefts ;  for  he  brought 
his  dogs  with  him  and  stole  the  larder  key  and  cut  off  pieces 
of  meat  for  them,  and  very  often  dipped  jars  into  the  pans 
of  milk  that  were  standing  for  cream.  His  father  reproved 
him,  and  from  that  day  he  hated  Esora,  casting  names  at 
her,  and  playing  many  pranks  upon  her  until  the  day  he 
tipped  a  kettle  of  boiling  water  over  his  foot  while  running 
to  scald  the  wasps  in  their  nest  —  one  of  the  apes  was  stung; 
it  was  to  avenge  the  sting  he  was  running,  and  no  one  had 
known  how  to  relieve  his  suffering ;  his  father  had  gone  away 
for  the  doctor,  but  Esora,  as  soon  as  she  heard  what  had 
happened,  came  with  her  balsam,  and  it  subdued  the  pain 
almost  miraculously. 

After  his  scalding  Joseph  brought  all  his  troubles  to  her 
to  be  cured,  confiding  to  her  care  coughs,  colds,  and  cut 
fingers ;  and,  as  she  never  failed  to  relieve  his  pain,  whatever 
it  was,  he  began  to  look  upon  her  with  respect  and  admiration. 
All  the  same  something  of  his  original  dislike  remained.  He 
disliked  her  while  he  admired  her,  and  his  suspicion  was  that 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  249 

she  loved  him  more  for  his  father's  sake  than  for  his  own.  ,  .  . 
It  was  his  father  who  sent  her  from  Gahlee  to  look  after  him. 
There  was  no  fault  to  find  with  her  management,  but  he  could 
not  rid  his  mind  of  the  belief  that  she  was  a  hard  task- 
mistress,  and  often  fell  to  pitying  the  servants  under  her 
supervision,  yet  here  she  was  up  at  five  while  Matred  lay 
drowsing.  This  testimony  of  her  kind  heart  was  agreeable 
to  him,  for  he  had  need  of  all  her  kindness  and  sympathy 
that  morning  —  only  with  her  help  could  Jesus  be  cured  of 
his  wounds  and  the  story  of  his  escape  from  the  cross  be 
kept  a  secret.  He  was  in  her  hands,  and,  confident  of  her 
loyalty  to  him,  he  told  her  that  he  had  left  his  door  open 
because  he  wished  to  speak  to  her  before  the  others  were  out 
of  bed. 

She  lifted  her  face  till  he  saw  her  dim  eyes,  perhaps  for 
the  first  time :  but  ye  haven't  been  in  bed,  and  there  be  dust 
on  thy  garments,  and  blood  upon  thy  hands  and  sleeves. 
Yes,  Esora,  my  cloak  is  full  of  dust,  and  the  blood  on  my 
sleeve  is  that  of  a  man  who  lies  wounded  in  the  gardener's 
cottage,  belike  to  death.  But  thou  canst  cure  him  and  will 
keep  the  secret  of  his  burial  if  we  have  to  bury  him  in  the 
garden.  It  may  be  that  some  day  I'll  tell  thee  his  story,  but 
think  now  only  how  thou  mayst  relieve  his  suffering.  Another 
time  thou  shalt  hear  everything ;  but  now,  Esora,  understand 
nobody  must  know  that  a  man  is  in  the  gardener's  cottage. 
It  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death  for  us.  I  am  here  to  serve 
you,  Master,  and  it  matters  not  to  me  what  his  story  may  be ; 
but  tell  me  is  he  wounded,  and  if  the  wounds  be  clean  wounds 
of  the  sword  or  the  torn  wounds  of  rods,  for  if  he  have  been 
scourged.  A  cruel  scourging  it  must  have  been,  Joseph 
answered.  Now,  before  we  go,  Esora,  understand  that  I 
shall  send  the  two  men  away,  one  to  Galilee  and  one  to 
Jericho.  Better  both  should  go  to  Jericho,  she  said.  I'd 
trust  neither  in  Jerusalem.  Let  them  go  straight  from  here 
as  soon  as  the  Sabbath  is  over,  the  journey  is  shorter,  and 


25©  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

they'll  be  as  well  out  of  the  way  In  one  country  as  in  the  other. 
Esora  is  wiser  than  I,  Joseph  thought,  and  together  they  shall 
go  to  Jericho,  and  with  an  important  message.  But  to 
whom  ?  Not  to  Gaddi,  who  might  come  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
see  me.  I'll  send  a  letter  to  Hazael,  the  Essene,  and  after 
having  delivered  the  message  they  can  remain  at  the  cara- 
vanserai in  Jericho.  Some  excuse  that  will  satisfy  Gaddi 
must  be  discovered,  Esora.  I  shall  find  one  later.  Both 
the  men  are  now  in  bed,  but  if  for  some  reason  one  of  them 
should  come  down  to  the  gardener's  cottage  !  It  isn't  likely, 
Esora  answered.  Not  likely,  Joseph  replied ;  but  we  must 
guard  against  anything.  If  thou  knewest  the  risk  !  I'll  lock 
the  door  of  the  passage  leading  to  their  rooms,  and  I'll  do  it 
at  once.  Give  me  the  keys.  She  handed  him  the  keys, 
and,  having  locked  the  men  in,  he  returned,  saying :  the 
wounded  man,  whom  thou'lt  cure,  Esora,  may  be  here  for 
a  month  or  more,  and  till  he  leaves  us  thou  must  watch  the 
girl  and  see  she  doesn't  stray  through  the  garden.  I  can 
manage  her,  Esora  answered.  But  now  about  the  poor  man 
who  is  waiting  for  attendance  in  the  gardener's  cottage. 
What  have  ye  done  for  him.  Master  ?  I  picked  from  his 
back  the  splinters  I  could  see  by  the  light  of  the  lamp,  and 
gave  him  some  wine  and  water,  and  laid  him  on  a  linen 
cloth.  The  old  woman  muttered  that  the  drawing  of  the 
cloth  from  the  wound  would  be  very  painful.  I  dare  say  it 
will,  Joseph  returned,  but  I  knew  not  what  else  to  do,  and 
it  seemed  to  relieve  him.  Can  you  help  him,  Esora  ?  Yes,  I 
can ;  and  she  began  telling  him  of  her  own  famous  balsam, 
the  secret  of  which  was  imparted  to  her  by  her  mother,  who 
had  it  from  her  mother ;  and  her  great-grandmother  learnt  it 
from  an  Arabian.  But  knowledge  of  the  balsam  went  back  to 
the  Queen  of  Sheba,  who  brought  the  plant  to  King  Solomon. 
Thou  must  have  seen  the  bush  in  the  garden  in  Galilee. 
It  throws  a  white  flower,  like  the  acacia,  and  the  juice  when 
drawn  passes  through  many  colours,  honey  colour  and  then 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  251 

green.  The  Egyptians  use  it  for  many  sicknesses,  and  it 
heals  wounds  magically.  The  sweet  liquor  pours  from  cuts  in 
the  branches,  and  care  must  be  taken  not  to  wound  them 
too  sorely.  This  plant  fears  the  sword,  for  it  heals  sword 
wounds,  so  the  cuts  in  the  tree  are  best  made  with  a  sharp 
flint  or  shell,  these  being  holier  than  steel.  If  thou  hast 
missed  the  bush  in  Magdala,  Master,  thou  must  have  seen 
it  in  Jericho,  for  I  brought  some  seeds  from  Galilee  to  Jericho 
and  planted  them  by  the  gardener's  cottage.  Esora,  all  that 
thou  tellest  me  about  the  balsam  is  marvellous.  I  could 
listen  to  thee  for  hours,  and  thou'lt  tell  me  about  thy  grand- 
mother and  the  Arabian  who  taught  her  how  to  gather  the 
juice  of  the  plant,  but  we  must  be  thinking  now  of  my  friend's 
agony.  Hast  any  of  thy  balsam  ready,  or  must  thou  go  to 
Jericho  for  the  juice .?  —  you  draw  the  juice  from  the  tree  ? 
No,  Master,  Esora  answered  him,  I  have  here  in  my  press 
a  jar  of  the  balsam,  and,  going  to  her  press,  she  held  the  jar 
to  Joseph,  who  saw  a  white,  milky  liquid,  and  after  smelling 
and  liking  its  sweet  smell  he  said  :  let  us  go  at  once.  But 
thou  mustn't  hurry  me.  Master;  I'm  collecting  bandages  of 
fine  linen  and  getting  this  kettle  of  water  to  boil ;  for  this  I 
learnt  from  a  man  who  learnt  it  from  the  best  surgeons  in  Rome  : 
that  freshly  boiled  water  holds  no  more  the  humours  that  make 
wounds  fructify,  and  if  boiled  long  enough  the  humours  fall 
to  the  bottom.  I  strain  them  off,  and  let  the  water  cool. 
Thou  mustn't  hurry  me ;  what  I  do,  I  do  well,  and  at  my 
own  pace ;  and  I'll  not  touch  a  wound  with  unclean  things. 
Now  I'll  get  some  oil.  Some  hold  Denbalassa  is  best  mixed 
with  oil,  but  I  pour  oil  upon  the  balm  after  I  have  laid  it  on 
the  wound,  and  by  this  means  it  will  stick  less  when  it  is  re- 
moved. But  is  thy  friend  a  patient  man  ?  Wounds  from 
scourging  heal  slowly ;  the  flesh  is  bruised  and  many  humours 
must  come  away ;  wounds  from  rods  are  not  like  the  clean 
cut  of  a  sword,  which  will  heal  under  the  balm  when  the 
edges  have  been  brought  together  carefully,  so  that  no  man 


252  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

can  find  the  place.  This  balm  will  cure  all  kinds  of  coughs, 
and  will  disperse  bile  as  many  a  time  I  have  found.  Some  will 
wash  a  wound  with  wine  and  water,  but  I  hold  it  heats  the 
blood  about  the  wound  and  so  increases  the  making  of  fresh 
humours.  Now,  Master,  take  up  the  pot  of  water  and  see 
that  ye  hold  it  steady.  I'll  carry  the  basket  containing  the 
oil  and  the  balm.  ...  It  was  the  Queen  of  Sheba  who  first 
made  the  balm  known,  because  she  gave  it  to  Solomon.  But 
we  must  keep  the  flies  from  him  ;  and  while  I'm  getting  these 
things  go  to  him  and  take  with  thee  a  fine  linen  cloth  ;  thou'lt 
find  some  pieces  in  that  cupboard,  and  a  hammer  and  some 
nails.  I'm  thinking  there  are  few  flies  in  the  gardener's 
cottage,  half  of  it  being  underground  ;  but  hasten  and  nail  up 
the  linen  cloth  over  the  window,  for  the  first  sun  ray  will 
awaken  any  that  are  in  the  cottage,  and,  if  there  aren't  any, 
flies  will  come  streaming  in  from  the  garden  as  soon  as  the 
light  comes,  following  the  scent  of  blood.  No,  not  there,  a 
little  to  the  right,  he  heard  her  crying,  and,  finding  a  piece  of 
linen  and  a  hammer  and  some  nails,  he  went  out  into  the  grey- 
ness  still  undisturbed  by  the  chirrup  of  a  half-awakened  bird. 
On  either  side  of  the  shelving  lawn  or  interspace  were 
woods,  the  remains  of  an  ancient  forest  that  had  once  covered 
this  hillside ;  paths  wound  sinuously  through  the  woods,  and, 
taking  the  one  he  had  followed  overnight,  he  passed  under 
sycamore  boughs,  through  some  woodland  to  the  terrace 
that  he  had  crossed  last  night  with  a  naked  man  on  his 
shoulders.  And  he  remembered  how  hard  it  had  been  to 
keep  to  the  path  overnight,  and  how  fortunate  it  was  that 
the  gardener's  cottage  was  not  locked,  for  if  he  had  had  to  lay 
Jesus  down  he  would  never  have  been  able  to  lift  him  up 
again  on  to  his  shoulder.  He  had  done  all  he  could  to 
relieve  his  suff"ering.  But  Jesus,  he  said  to  himself,  is  lying 
in  agony,  and  if  he  has  regained  consciousness  he  may  be- 
lieve himself  buried  alive.  I  must  hasten.  Yet  when  he 
arrived  at  the  cottage  he  did  not  enter  it  at  once,  but  stood 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  253 

outside  listening  to  the  moans  of  the  wounded  man  within, 
which  were  good  to  hear  in  this  much  that  they  were  an  as- 
surance that  he  was  still  alive.  At  last  he  pushed  the  door 
open  and  found  Jesus  moving  his  head  from  side  to  side, 
unable  to  rid  himself  of  a  fly  that  was  crawling  about  his 
mouth.  Joseph  drove  it  away  and  gave  Jesus  some  more 
weak  wine  and  water,  which  seemed  to  soothe  him,  and 
feeling  he  could  do  no  more  he  sat  down  by  the  bedside  to 
wait  for  Esora.  A  few  minutes  after  he  heard  her  steps  and 
she  came  into  the  cottage  with  balsam  and  bandages  in  a 
basket,  divining  before  any  examination  Jesus'  state.  He  is 
in  a  bad  way ;  you've  given  him  wine  and  water,  but  he'll 
need  something  stronger,  and,  taking  a  bottle  from  her 
basket,  she  lifted  Jesus'  head  so  that  he  might  drink  from  it. 
It  will  help  him  to  bear  the  pain  of  the  dressing,  she  said. 
Now,  Master,  will  you  roll  him  over  on  to  his  side,  so  that  I 
may  see  his  back.  The  pain,  she  said,  looking  up,  when 
we  remove  this  cloth  on  which  you  have  laid  him  will  almost 
kill  him,  but  we  must  get  it  oflF.  The  water  with  which 
I'll  cleanse  the  wound,  you'll  find  it  in  that  basket :  it  is  cool 
enough  now  to  use.  Take  him  by  the  wrists  and  pull  him 
forward,  keeping  him  in  a  sitting  position.  Which  Joseph 
did,  Esora  washing  his  back  the  while  and  removing  the 
splinters  that  Joseph  missed  overnight.  And,  taking  pleasure 
in  her  ministrations,  she  steeped  a  piece  of  linen  in  the  balm, 
and  over  the  medicated  linen  laid  a  linen  pad,  rolling  a 
bandage  round  the  chest ;  and  the  skill  with  which  she  wound 
it  surprised  Joseph  and  persuaded  him  that  the  worst  was 
over  and  there  was  no  cause  for  further  fear,  a  confidence 
Esora  did  not  share.  He'll  rest  easier,  she  said,  and  will 
suffer  no  pain  at  the  next  dressing;  for  the  oil  will  prevent 
the  balm  from  sticking.  We  can  roll  him  on  his  back  now  and 
without  asking  any  question  she  dressed  his  hands  and  feet. 
Joseph  thanked  her  inwardly  for  her  reticence,  and  he  nailed 
up  the  fine  linen  cloth  before  the  window,  saying :    now  he 


254  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

is  secure  from  the  flies.  But  one  or  two  have  got  in  already, 
Esora  answered,  and  one  or  two  will  trouble  the  sick  man  as 
much  as  a  hundred.  We  can't  leave  him  alone ;  one  of  us 
must  watch  by  his  side ;  for  he  is  still  delirious  and  knows  not 
yet  what  has  befallen  him  nor  where  he  is.  If  he  were  to 
return  to  clear  reason  and  find  the  door  locked  he  might 
lose  his  reason  for  good  and  all,  and  if  we  left  the  door  open 
he  might  run  out  into  the  garden.     It  isn't  safe  to  leave  him. 

And  perceiving  all  she  said  to  be  sound  sense,  Joseph  took 
counsel  with  her,  and  his  resolve  was  that  the  two  men- 
servants  should  remain  in  their  house  till  the  sunset.  That 
I  should  send  them  away  to  Jericho  on  my  own  horses  will 
surprise  them,  he  said  to  himself,  but  that  can't  be  altered. 
A  long,  weary  day  lies  before  us,  Esora,  and  we  shall  have  to 
take  it  in  turns,  and  neither  can  be  away  for  more  than  two 
hours  at  a  time  from  the  house.  Matred  will  be  asking  for 
instructions  whether  she  is  to  feed  the  poultry  or  to  kill  a 
chicken.  Though  it  be  the  Sabbath,  she'll  find  reasons  to  be 
about  because  we  would  have  her  indoors.  And  when  I'm 
watching  by  the  sick  man,  Esora  returned,  she'll  be  asking: 
where.  Master,  is  Esora  ?  Thou'lt  have  to  invent  excuses. 
We've  forgotten  the  servants,  Esora.  Give  me  the  key. 
I  must  run  with  it  and  unlock  the  door  of  the  passage.  Do 
you  wait  here  till  I  return. 

He  hoped  to  find  his  servants  asleep,  and  his  hopes  were 
fulfilled ;  and  after  rousing  them  with  vigorous  reproof  for 
their  laziness,  he  descended  the  stairs,  thinking  of  the  letter 
he  would  devise  for  them  to  carry  to  Jericho.  These  men, 
Sarea  and  Asiel,  were  his  peril.  Once  they  were  away  on 
their  journey  to  Jericho  he  would  feel  easier.  But  all  these 
hours  I  shall  suffer,  he  said.  But,  Master,  they  know  the 
cottage  to  be  empty.  One  never  can  think,  my  good  Esora, 
whither  idle  men  will  be  wandering,  and  the  risk  is  great. 
Having  gone  so  far  we  must  have  courage,  Esora  answered. 
Now  give  me  the   key,  and  I'll   lock  myself  in  with  him ; 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  255 

we'll  take  it  in  turns,  and  the  day  will  not  be  as  long  passing 
as  you  think  for.  It  is  now  six  o'clock,  he  answered  :  twelve 
hours  will  have  to  pass  away  before  the  men  start  for  Jericho. 
And  then  the  night  will  be  before  us,  replied  Esora.  I 
hadn't  thought  of  the  night,  Joseph  answered,  and  she 
reminded  him  that  it  might  be  days  before  his  friend,  who  had 
been  scourged,  could  recover  sufficiently  for  him  to  leave. 
For  he  won't  always  remain  here,  she  added.  No !  no ! 
Joseph  replied,  and  gave  her  the  key  of  the  cottage,  and  re- 
turned to  the  house  to  tell  Sarea  and  Asiel  that  he  hoped 
they  would  remain  indoors  during  the  Sabbath,  for  he  wished 
them  to  start  for  Jericho  as  soon  as  the  Sabbath  was  over. 
They  shall  ride  my  horses,  he  said  to  himself,  and  bear  letters 
that  will  detain  them  in  Jericho  for  some  weeks,  and  if  Jesus 
be  not  well  enough  to  leave  me,  another  letter  will  delay  their 
return.     It  can  be  so  arranged,  with  a  little  luck  on  our  side ! 

The  lantern  suddenly  flashed  into  his  mind.  He  had 
left  it  on  the  table  in  his  room  and  Esora  would  see  it.  But 
why  shouldn't  she  see  the  lantern  ?  The  centurion  and  the 
carrier  and  Martha  and  Mary  all  knew  that  he  had  brought 
from  Jerusalem  a  sheet  in  which  to  wrap  the  body  of  Jesus, 
and  a  lantern  to  light  their  way  into  the  tomb.  It  would  be 
in  agreement  with  what  he  had  already  said  to  tell  that  he 
brought  the  lantern  back  with  him,  nor  would  it  have 
mattered  if  he  had  not  returned  to  the  tomb  to  fetch  the 
lantern.  The  lantern  would  not  cast  any  suspicion  upon 
him.  But  he  had  done  well  to  refrain  from  closing  the 
sepulchre  with  the  stone,  for  the  story  of  the  resurrection 
would  rise  out  of  the  empty  tomb,  and  though  there  were 
many  among  the  Jews  who  would  not  believe  the  story,  few 
would  have  the  courage  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  a  miracle. 

A  faint  smile  gathered  on  his  lips,  and  he  began  to  wonder 
what  the  expression  would  be  on  the  faces  of  Martha  and 
Mary  when  they  came  to  him  on  the  morrow  with  the  news 
that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  XX 

HE  said  to  himself  that  they  would  start  at  dawn,  and 
getting  to  the  sepulchre  soon  after  three,  and  finding  it 
empty,  would  come  running  to  him,  and,  so  that  himself 
might  open  the  gate  to  them,  he  ordered  his  watch  (it  should 
have  ended  by  midnight)  to  continue  till  four  o'clock.  And, 
sitting  by  the  sick  man's  side,  he  listened  expectant  for  the 
hush  that  comes  at  the  end  of  night.  At  last  it  fell  upon  his 
ear.  The  women  are  on  their  way  to  the  sepulchre,  he  said, 
and  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half  I'll  hear  the  bell  clang.  But 
the  bell  clanged  sooner  than  he  thought  for;  and  so  im- 
patient was  he  to  see  them  that  he  did  not  remember  to  draw 
his  cloak  about  him  as  if  he  were  only  half  dressed  (a  necessary 
thing  to  do  if  he  were  to  deceive  them)  till  he  was  in  the 
middle  of  the  garden.  But  feigning  of  disordered  raiment 
was  vanity,  for  the  women  were  too  troubled  to  notice 
that  he  had  not  kept  them  waiting  long  enough  to  testify  of 
any  sudden  rousing  from  his  bed,  and  began  to  cry  aloud  as 
he  approached :  he  has  risen,  he  has  risen  from  the  dead 
as  he  promised  us.  Joseph  came  towards  them  yawning, 
as  if  his  sleep  were  not  yet  dispersed  sufficiently  for  him  to 
comprehend  them ;  and  he  let  them  through  the  gate,  in- 
viting them  into  his  house ;  but  they  cried :  he's  risen  from 
the  dead.  The  sepulchre  is  empty,  Mary  cried,  anticipating 
her  sister's  words,  and  we  have  come  to  you  for  counsel. 
Are  we  to  tell  what  we  have  seen  ?  Seen !  said  Joseph. 
Forthwith  both  began  to  babble  about  a  young  man  in  a 
white  raiment.  His  counsel  to  them  was  neither  to  spread 
the  news  nor  to  conceal  it.     Let  the  apostles,  he  began  — 

256 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  257 

but  Martha  interrupted  him,  saying :  they  are  all  in  hiding, 
in  great  fear  of  the  Pharisees,  who  have  power  over  Pilate, 
and  he  will  condemn  them  all  to  the  cross,  so  they  say,  if 
they  do  not  escape  at  once  into  Galilee.  But  since  we  can 
vouch  that  we  found  the  stone  rolled  away  and  a  young  man 
in  white  garments  in  the  sepulchre,  we  are  uncertain  that 
they  may  not  take  courage  and  delay  their  departure,  for  they 
can  no  longer  doubt  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  in  his 
chariot  of  fire  by  the  side  of  his  Father,  the  Judgment  Book 
upon  his  lap.  Those  that  have  already  gone  will  return, 
Mary  answered ;  and  our  testimony  will  cause  the  wicked 
Pharisees  to  repent  before  it  be  too  late.  His  words  were 
that  his  blood  was  the  means  whereby  we  might  rise  into 
everlasting  life. 

Martha  then  broke  in  with  much  discourse,  which  Joseph 
interrupted  with  a  question  :  had  the  young  man  they  saw 
in  the  tomb  spoken  to  them  ?  The  sisters  were  taken  aback, 
and  stood  asking  each  other  what  he  said,  Martha  saying 
one  thing,  and  Mary  another;  and  so  bewildered  were  they 
that  Joseph  bade  them  return  to  Bethany  and  relate  to 
Lazarus,  and  any  others  of  their  company  they  might  meet, 
all  they  had  seen  and  heard  :  If  you've  heard  anything,  he 
added.  Then  thou  believest  Jesus  to  be  risen  from  the  dead, 
they  cried  through  the  bars  as  he  locked  the  gates.  Yes,  I 
believe  that  Jesus  lives.  Will  he  return  to  us  ?  Martha 
cried ;  and  Joseph  as  he  crossed  the  garden  heard  Mary 
crying  through  the  dusk :  shall  we  see  him  again  ?  A  fine 
story  they'll  relate,  one  which  will  not  grow  smaller  as  it  passes 
from  mouth  to  mouth.  Sooner  or  later  it  will  reach  Pilate, 
and  Pilate's  first  thought  will  be  :  the  centurion  told  me  that 
Jesus  died  on  the  cross  after  three  hours ;  and  I  believed  him, 
though  it  was  outside  of  all  reason  to  suppose  the  cross  could 
kill  a  man  in  three  hours.  But  if  the  Pharisees  should  go 
to  Pilate  and  say  to  him :  the  rumour  is  about  that  Jesus 
has  risen  from  the  dead.  Will  you,  Pilate,  cause  a  search 
s 


258  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

to  be  made  from  house  to  house  ?     Pilate  would  answer  that 
the  law  had  been  fulfilled,  and  that  the  testimony  of  his 
centurion  was  sufficient ;  for  he  hated  the  Pharisees  and  would 
refuse  any  other  answer;    but  Pilate  might  send  for  him, 
Joseph ;  and  Joseph  fell  to  wondering  at  the  answers  he  would 
make  to  Pilate,  and  at  the  duplicity  of  these,  for  he  had  never 
suspected  himself  of  cunning.     But  circumstances  make  the 
man,  he  said,  and  before  Jesus  passes  out  of  my  keeping  I 
shall  have  learnt  to  speak  even  as  he  did  in  double  meanings. 
He  lay  down  to  sleep,  and  when  he  rose  it  was  time  to  go  to 
help  Esora  to  change  the  bandages,  and  while  they  were 
busy  unwinding  them  (it  was  towards  the  end  of  the  after- 
noon)   they   were   interrupted    suddenly   in   their  work   by 
Matred's  voice  in  the  garden  calling  :   Esora,  where  are  you  ? 
and,  not  getting  an  answer  from  Esora,  she  cried :   Master ! 
Master !     A  moment  after  her  voice  came  from  a  different 
part  of  the  garden,  and  Joseph  said  to  Esora  :  she'll  be  knock- 
ing at  the  door  in  another  minute ;  she  mustn't  come  hither. 
Go  and  meet  her,  Esora,  and  as  soon  as  the  girl  is  safe  come 
back  to  me.     It  shall  be  as  thou  sayest.  Master;   but  mean- 
while hold  the  man  forward ;   let  him  not  fall  back  upon  the 
pillow,  for  he  will  stick  there  and  my  work  will  be  undone. 
Joseph    obeyed    her,    himself    quaking    lest    the    Pharisees 
should    come   in    search    of  Jesus,    saying   to   himself:    the 
Pharisees  might  be  persuaded  that  Jesus  is  risen  from  the 
dead,  but  the  Sadducees  do  not  believe  in  the  resurrection. 
What  answer  shall  I  give  to  them  ? 

At  last  he  heard  Esora's  voice  outside :  fear  nothing, 
Master,  for  friends  have  come ;  one  named  Cleophas  and 
another  are  here  with  a  story  of  a  miracle,  and,  unable  to  rid 
myself  of  them  without  rudeness,  I  asked  them  into  the 
house,  saying  that  you  had  business  (meaning  that  we  must 
finish  dressing  this  poor  man's  wounds),  but  as  soon  as  your 
business  was  finished  you  would  go  to  meet  them.  You 
spoke  as  you  should  have  spoken,  Joseph  answered  her,  and 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  259 

went  towards  the  house  certain  and  sure  that  they  too  came 
to  tell  Jesus's  resurrection ;  and  the  moment  he  entered 
it  and  saw  his  guests,  their  faces  and  demeanour  told  him 
that  he  guessed  rightly.  Leaning  towards  them  over  the 
table  familiarly,  so  as  to  help  them  to  narrate  simply,  he 
heard  Cleophas,  whom  the  friend  elected  as  spokesman, 
say  they  heard  Martha  and  Mary  telling  they  had  found  the 
stone  rolled  away,  and  a  young  man  in  white  raiment  seated 
where  Jesus  was  overnight,  and  from  him  they  had  learnt 
that  he  whom  they  sought  was  risen  from  the  dead.  So  we 
said  to  one  another :  if  he  sent  an  angel  to  tell  these  women 
of  his  resurrection  he  will  not  forget  us,  for  we  loved  him ; 
and  in  hopes  of  getting  news  of  him  in  the  country,  and 
that  we  might  better  think  of  him,  we  agreed  to  walk  to- 
gether to  Emmaus ;  for  when  a  man  is  sad  he  likes  to  be  with 
another  one  who  may  share  his  sadness,  and  Khuza  and  I 
have  always  loved  the  same  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

We  walked  sadly,  without  speech,  indulging  in  recollections 
of  Jesus,  and  were  half-way  on  our  journey  when  a  wayfarer 
approached  us  and  asked  us  the  cause  of  our  grief.  We  asked 
him  in  reply  if  he  were  the  only  one  in  Jerusalem  that  had  not 
heard  speak  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  great  prophet  before 
God  and  the  people.  Do  you  not  know  that  our  priests 
and  our  rulers  condemned  him  who  we  hoped  would  deliver 
Israel,  and  to-day  is  the  third  day  since  all  that  has  befallen  ? 
Some  women  of  our  company  told  us  this  morning  that  they 
had  been  to  the  sepulchre  at  daybreak  and  found  nobody, 
but  had  seen  angels,  who  told  them  that  he  lived ;  and  then 
others  of  our  company  went  to  the  sepulchre  and  they  found 
that  the  women  spoke  truthfully ;  the  tomb  was  empty  of 
all  but  the  cere-clothes.  So  did  we  tell  the  story  to  the  way- 
farer, who  then  asked  us  whither  our  way  was,  and  we  told 
him  to  Emmaus,  and  that  our  hope  was  our  Master  might 
send  an  angel  to  us  with  news  of  himself.  It  was  with  that 
hope  that  we  left  the  city.     And  your  way,  honoured  sir  ? 


26o  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

and  he  answered  me,  to  Emmaus,  and  perceiving  him  as 
we  walked  thither  to  be  a  pious  man,  and  more  learned  than 
ourselves  in  the  Scriptures,  we  begged  him  to  remain  with  us. 
He  seemed  averse,  as  if  he  had  business  farther  on,  but  my- 
self and  my  friend  here,  Khuza,  persuaded  him  to  stay  and 
sup  with  us,  so  that  we  might  tell  our  memories  of  him  that 
was  gone.  But  he  seemed  to  know  all  we  related  to  him  of 
Jesus,  interrupting  us  often  with :  as  was  foretold  in  the 
Scriptures,  giving  us  chapter  and  verse ;  and  enlivened  by  a 
glass  of  good  wine,  he  spoke  to  us  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  which 
Jesus  would  drink  with  us  in  the  Kingdom  of  his  Father ;  and 
he  broke  bread  and  shared  it  with  us,  as  it  was  meet  that  the 
head  of  the  house  should,  and  the  gesture  with  which  he 
broke  it  is  one  of  our  memories  of  Jesus.  We  fell  to  dreaming 
ourselves  back  in  Galilee,  and  the  intonations  of  Jesus'  voice 
and  the  faces  of  the  apostles  were  all  remembered  by  us.  We 
don't  know  for  how  long  we  dreamed,  but  when  our  eyes  were 
opened  to  reality  again  we  saw  that  our  friend,  who  was 
anxious  to  continue  his  journey,  had  risen  and  gone  away 
without  bidding  us  good-bye,  belike  not  wishing  to  disturb  the 
current  of  our  recollections.  Did  we  not  feel  something 
strange  while  he  was  with  us  ?  my  friend  asked  me,  so  to  my 
friend  here  I  put  the  question  :  did  not  our  hearts  burn 
while  bespoke  to  us  on  the  road  hither  ?  and  I  cited  prophecies 
that  were  testimony  that  the  Messiah  must  suffer  before  he 
entered  into  glory.  And  Khuza  answered :  did  you  not 
recognise  him,  Cleophas,   by  the  way  in  which  he  broke 

bread  ?     Now  you  speak  of  it,  I  replied 

Our  eyes  that  had  not  seen  saw,  and  we  knew  that  Jesus 
had  been  with  us,  and  hurried  to  Jerusalem  to  tell  the 
apostles  that  we  had  seen  him.  But  their  hearts  are  hard 
and  narrow  and  dry,  as  Jesus  himself  well  knew,  and  as  he 
said  would  be  evinced  at  the  striking  of  the  hour,  and  when 
we  told  Peter  that  Martha  and  Mary  had  been  to  the  sepul- 
chre and  found  the  stone  rolled  away  he  answered :    I  too 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  261 

have  visited  the  sepulchre  and  saw  nothing.  It  was  open, 
but  I  saw  no  young  man  sitting  in  white  raiment,  nor  did 
an  angel  greet  me.  John  said  :  three  days  have  now  passed 
away  since  he  was  put  on  the  cross,  and  in  three  days  he 
was  to  have  returned  in  a  chariot  of  fire  by  the  side  of  his 
Father  and  make  a  great  Kingdom  of  happiness  and  peace 
in  this  country.  But  he  hasn't  come;  he  has  deceived  us 
and  put  our  lives  in  jeopardy,  for  if  the  Pharisees  find  us 
here  they'll  bring  us  before  Pilate,  who  is  a  man  without 
mercy,  and  eleven  more  will  hang  on  crosses. 

Salome,  mother  of  John  and  James,  too,  got  in  her  word 
and  railed  against  Jesus  for  having  brought  them  all  from 
Galilee  for  naught.  John  and  James,  he  promised  me, 
were  to  sit  on  either  side  of  him  in  Kingdom  Come.  Where- 
upon Peter  said  :  thou  liest,  woman.  I  was  to  sit  on  his 
right  hand.  And  while  these  disciples  disputed  on  Jesus' 
words  Bartholomew  praised  Judas,  who  had  withdrawn  as 
soon  as  Jesus  began  to  talk  of  the  angels  that  would  surround 
the  chariot.  Thomas  reproved  Bartholomew,  saying  that 
Jesus  never  said  that  there  would  be  angels ;  and  they  all 
began  to  wrangle,  asking  each  other  how  many  angels  would 
be  required  to  match  a  Roman  legion.  Nor  were  they  sure 
that  Jesus  said  he  was  God's  own  son,  and  equal  to  God ; 
at  which  many  were  scandalised  and  turned  away  their 
faces ;  nor  could  they  say  that  they  had  not  desired  to  find 
a  god  in  him  on  account  of  the  chairs.  I'm  not  speaking  of 
James  and  John.  And  then  the  ugly  twain  turned  upon  us, 
saying  that  we  —  myself  and  Khuza  —  were  but  disciples 
and  could  baptize  with  water,  but  not  with  the  holy  breath, 
which  was  reserved  for  the  apostles ;  nor  with  fire.  At 
his  words  the  lightning  flashed  into  the  room,  and  John  said  : 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  great  miracle  —  the  baptism  by 
fire  of  the  apostles.  And  when  the  storm  ceased  they  were 
all  mixed  in  a  dispute  about  the  imposition  of  hands;  of 
this  right  they  were  the  inheritors,   so  they  said,   and   all 


262  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

were  resolved  to  practise  it  as  soon  as  they  got  back  to 
Galilee,  from  whence  they  had  foolishly  strayed,  abandon- 
ing their  boats  and  nets.  On  the  morrow  they  would 
return  thither  and  pray  that  the  Lord,  who  is  the  only  god 
of  Israel,  would  forgive  them  and  send  them  a  great  draught 
of  fish,  which  they  hoped  your  father,  sir,  would  pay  for 
at  more  than  ordinary  price  to  recompense  them  for  what 
they  lost  by  following  the  Master  hither. 

Joseph  would  have  asked  him  if  Nathaniel  and  Thomas 
and  Bartholomew  denied  Jesus  as  well  as  Peter  and  James 
and  John :  if  there  was  not  one  among  the  eleven  that 
had  faith  that  he  might  return.  But  prudence  restrained 
him  from  putting  needless  questions,  for  Cleophas  was  lo- 
quacious, and  he  had  only  to  listen  to  hear  that  Peter  and 
James  and  John  were  eager  that  it  should  be  known  that 
they  no  longer  believed  Jesus  to  be  the  true  Messiah  that 
the  Jews  were  waiting  for.  It  is  said,  Khuza  interrupted, 
becoming  suddenly  talkative  in  his  turn,  it  is  said  that  they 
are  afraid  lest  the  agents  of  the  Pharisees  should  discover 
them.  Many  left  for  Galilee  on  the  Friday  evening,  and  in 
three  days  the  fishers  he  brought  hither  will  be  letting  down 
their  nets  again  and  the  publican  Matthew  will  start  on  his 
round  asking  for  the  taxes.     All  will  be 

But,  said  Joseph,  whose  thoughts  had  gone  back  to  the 
great  draught  of  fish  which  Peter  and  John  hoped  his  father 
would  pay  for  above  the  usual  price  so  that  they  might 
be  recompensed  for  their  journey  to  Jerusalem,  you  did 
not  come  to  me  to  pray  me  to  write  to  my  father  that  he 
may  punish  the  apostles  for  their  lack  of  faith  by  refusing 
to  buy  their  fish  ?  No,  it  wasn't  for  that  we  came  hither, 
Khuza  answered  quickly,  and  Cleophas  looked  at  him,  won- 
dering if  he  would  have  the  courage  to  put  into  words  the 
cause  of  their  visit.  We  thought  that  because  Pilate  had 
given  the  body  of  Jesus  to  you  to  lay  in  your  sepulchre, 
and  as  you  were  the  last  to  see  him,  you  might  come  into 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  263 

Jerusalem  with  us  and  declare  the  miracle  to  the  people. 
You  see,  sir,  Martha  and  Mary  have  testified  to  the  rolling 
back  of  the  stone,  and  no  more  is  needed  than  your  word  for 
all  to  believe.  Joseph  looked  in  their  faces  for  some  moments, 
unable  to  reply  to  them ;  and  then,  collecting  his  thoughts 
as  he  spoke,  he  impressed  upon  Cleophas  and  Khuza  that 
for  him  to  go  down  to  Jerusalem  and  proclaim  his  belief  in 
the  resurrection  would  only  anger  the  Pharisees  and  give 
rise  to  further  persecutions.  It  will  be  better,  he  said,  to 
let  the  truth  leak  out  and  convince  men  naturally,  without 
suspicion  that  we  are  attempting  to  deceive  them  with 
testimony  which  their  hearts  are  already  hardened  against. 
This  answer,  which  showed  a  knowledge  of  men  that  Joseph 
did  not  know  he  possessed,  satisfied  both  Cleophas  and 
Khuza,  and  perceiving  that  they  were  detaining  Joseph 
they  rose  to  go.  On  the  way  to  the  gate  Joseph's  words 
lighted  up  in  their  minds :  he  said  it  would  not  be  well  for 
him  to  go  down  to  Jerusalem  and  proclaim  his  belief  in  the 
resurrection ;  therefore  he  believed  in  the  resurrection, 
and,  unable  to  restrain  his  curiosity,  Khuza  besought  him 
to  answer  if  Jesus  ever  said  that  it  would  be  his  corrupt- 
ible body  or  a  spiritual  body  (a  sort  of  spirit  of  sense) 
that  would  ascend.  It  could  not  be  the  fleshy  body  which 
eats  and  drinks  and  passes  soil  and  water,  for  unless  there 
be  in  heaven  corners  where  one  can  loosen  one's  belt  the 
body  would  be  gravely  incommoded ;  and  he  began  to 
argue,  placing  his  foot  so  that  Joseph  could  not  close  the 
gate,  saying  that  if  the  corruptible  body  had  not  ascended 

into  heaven  it  must  be  upon  earth.     But  where 

Joseph's  cheek  paled,  and  Cleophas,  noticing  the  pallor 
and  interpreting  it  to  mean  Joseph's  anger  against  his 
friend  for  his  insistence  in  putting  questions  which  Joseph 
could  not  answer  —  for  had  he  not  rolled  up  the  stone  of 
the  sepulchre  and  sealed  it  and  gone  his  way  ?  —  took  his 
friend   by   the   arm    and    said :    we   must    leave   Joseph   of 


264  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Arimathea  some  time  to  attend  to  his  business.  We  are  de- 
taining him.  Come,  Khuza,  we  are  trespassing  on  his  time. 
Joseph  smiled  in  acquiescence;  but  Khuza,  who  was  still 
anxious  to  learn  how  many  Roman  soldiers  equalled  one 
angel,  hung  on  until  Joseph's  patience  ran  dry.  At  last 
Cleophas  got  him  away,  and  no  sooner  were  their  backs 
turned  than  Joseph  forgot  them  completely  as  if  they  had 
never  been :  for  Esora  had  said  that  she  hoped  to  be  able 
to  get  Jesus  to  swallow  a  little  soup,  and  he  hastened  his 
steps,  anxious  to  know  if  she  had  succeeded. 

I  got  him  to  swallow  two  or  three  spoonfuls,  she  said, 
and  they  seem  to  have  done  him  good.  Dost  think  he 
seems  to  be  resting  easier  ?  Yes ;  but  the  fever  hasn't 
left  him.  His  brain  is  still  clouded  and  feeble.  This  is 
but  the  third  day,  she  replied.  Truthfully  I  can  say  that 
I've  never  seen  any  man  scourged  like  this  one.  It  is 
more  than  the  customary  scourging;  the  executioners 
must  have  gotten  an  extra  fee.  As  she  had  seen  men 
crucified  in  Tiberias  and  Caesarea,  he  asked  her  if  it  were 
common  for  the  crucified  to  live  after  being  lifted  from 
the  cross.  Those  that  haven't  been  on  the  cross  more 
than  two  days  are  brought  back  frequently,  but  the  third 
day  ends  them,  so  great  are  the  pains  in  the  head  and  heart. 
But  I  knew  one  —  and  she  began  to  relate  the  almost 
miraculous  recovery  of  a  man  who  had  been  on  the  cross 
for  nearly  three  days,  and  had  been  brought  back  by  strong 
remedies  to  live  to  a  good  old  age.  But  none  die  on  the 
first  day  ?  Joseph  said,  and  Esora  answered  that  she  never 
heard  of  anyone  that  died  so  quickly;  without,  however, 
asking  Joseph  if  the  man  before  them  had  been  lifted  down 
from  the  cross  the  first,  second  or  third  day. 

He  expected  her  to  ask  him  if  Cleophas  had  come  to 
warn  him  that  inquiries  were  on  foot  regarding  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  body  of  one  of  the  crucified,  but  she  asked 
no  questions,  and  he  knew  not  whether  she  refrained  from 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  265 

discretion  or  because  her  interest  in  things  was  dying. 
Not  dying  but  dead,  he  said  to  himself  as  he  scanned  the 
years  that  her  face  and  figure  manifested,  and  judged 
them  to  be  eighty. 

Now,  Esora,  I'll  go  and  lie  down  for  a  little  while,  and 
lest  I  should  oversleep  myself  I'll  tell  the  girl  to  call  me. 
But  how  shall  I  recompense  thee  for  this  care,  Esora  ?  I 
am  too  old.  Master,  to  hope  for  anything  but  your  pleasure, 
she  answered,  and  when  he  returned  she  told  him  that 
Jesus  was  fallen  into  another  swoon,  and  they  began  talk- 
ing of  the  sick  man.  His  mind  wanders  up  and  down  Gali- 
lee, she  said.  And  now  I'll  leave  you  to  him.  I've  that 
girl  on  my  mind.  And  while  Jesus  slept,  Joseph  pondered 
on  the  extraordinary  adventure  that  he  found  himself  on, 
giving  thanks  to  God  for  having  chosen  him  as  the  humble 
instrument  of  his  will. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

IT  was  after  she  had  persuaded  him  to  take  a  little  soup, 
which  he  did  with  some  show  of  appetite,  that  Esora  began 
to  think  she  might  save  him  :  if  his  strength  does  not  die 
away,  she  said.  But  will  it  ?  Joseph  inquired.  Not  if  he 
continues  to  take  food,  she  replied ;  and  two  hours  later 
she  returned  to  the  bedside  to  feed  him  again,  and  for  a 
few  seconds  he  was  roused  from  his  lethargy;  but  it  was 
not  till  the  seventh  day  that  his  eyes  seemed  to  ask :  who 
art  thou,  and  who  am  I  ?  And  how  came  I  hither  ?  Thou'rt 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  I  am  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  whom 
thou  knewest  in  Galilee,  and  it  was  I  that  brought  thee 
hither,  but  more  than  that  I  dare  not  tell  lest  too  much 
story  should  fatigue  thy  brain.  I  do  not  remember  coming 
here.  Where  am  I  ?  Is  this  a  holy  place  ?  Was  a  prophet 
ever  taken  away  to  heaven  from  here  ?  Afraid  to  perplex 
the  sick  man,  Joseph  answered  that  he  never  heard  that 
anything  of  the  sort  had  happened  lately.  But  thou  canst 
tell  me,  Jesus  continued,  why  thou'rt  here  ?  Thou'rt 
the  rich  man's  son.  Ah,  yes,  and  my  sorrow  for  some 
wrong  done  to  thee  brought  thee  hither.  His  eyelids 
fell  over  his  eyes,  and  a  few  minutes  afterwards  he  opened 
them,  and  after  looking  at  Joseph  repeated:  my  sorrow 
brought  thee  here;  and  still  in  doubt  as  to  what  answer 
he  should  make,  Joseph  asked  him  if  he  were  glad  he  was 
by  him.  Very  glad,  he  said,  and  strove  to  take  Joseph's 
hand.  But  my  hand  pains  me,  and  the  other  hand  like- 
wise ;  my  feet  too ;  my  forehead ;  my  back ;  I  am  all 
pain.     Thou  must  have  patience,  Esora  broke  in,  and  the 

266 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  267 

pain  will  pass  away.  Who  is  that  woman  ?  A  leper,  or 
one  suffering  from  a  flux  of  blood  ?  Tell  her  I  cannot 
impose  my  hands  and  cast  out  the  wicked  demon  that 
afflicts  her.  He  mustn't  be  allowed  to  talk,  Esora  said ; 
he  must  rest.  And  on  these  words  he  seemed  to  sink  into 
a  lethargy.  Has  he  fallen  asleep  again .?  It  is  sleep  or 
lethargy,  she  answered,  and  they  went  to  the  door  of  the 
cottage,  and,  leaning  against  the  lintels,  stood  balancing 
the  chances  of  the  sick  man's  recovery. 

We  can  do  no  more,  she  said,  than  we  are  doing.  We 
must  put  our  trust  in  my  balsam  and  give  him  food  as 
often  as  he'll  take  it  from  us.  Which  they  did  day  after 
day,  relieving  each  other's  watches,  and  standing  over  Jesus' 
bed  conferring  together,  wondering  if  he  cared  to  live  or 
would  prefer  that  they  suffered  him  to  die.   .  .  . 

For  many  days  he  lay  like  a  piece  of  wreckage,  and  it 
was  not  till  the  end  of  seven  more  days  that  he  seemed  to 
rouse  a  little  out  of  his  lethargy,  or  his  indifference  —  they 
knew  not  which  it  was.  In  answer  to  Esora  he  said  he  felt 
easier,  and  would  be  glad  if  they  would  wheel  his  bed  nearer 
to  the  door.  Outside  is  the  garden,  he  whispered,  for  I  see 
boughs  waving,  and  can  hear  the  bees.  Wilt  thou  let  me 
go  into  the  garden  ?  As  soon  as  I've  removed  the  dressing 
thou  shalt  have  a  look  into  the  garden,  Esora  replied,  and 
she  called  upon  Joseph  to  pull  Jesus  forward.  All  this, 
she  said,  was  raw  flesh  a  week  ago,  and  now  the  scab  is 
coming  away  nicely;  you  see  the  new  skin  my  balsam  is 
bringing  up.  His  feet,  too,  are  healing,  Joseph  observed, 
and  look  as  if  he  will  be  able  to  stand  upon  them  in  another 
few  days.  Wounds  do  not  heal  as  quickly  as  that.  Master. 
Thou  must  have  patience.  But  he'll  be  wanting  a  pair  of 
crutches  very  soon.  We  might  send  to  Jerusalem  for  a 
pair.  There  is  no  need  to  send  to  Jerusalem,  he  answered. 
I  think  I'd  like  to  make  him  a  pair.  Anybody  can  make 
a  pair  of  crutches,  however  poor  a  carpenter  he  may  be; 


268  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

and  every  evening  as  soon  as  his  watch  was  over  he  repaired 
to  the  wood-shed.  They  won't  be  much  to  look  at,  Esora 
reflected,  but  that  won't  matter,  if  he  gets  them  the  right 
length,  and  strong. 

Come  and  see  them,  he  said  to  her  one  evening,  and 
when  she  had  admired  his  handiwork  sufficiently  he  said : 
tell  me,  Esora,  is  a  man's  mind  the  same  after  scourging 
and  crucifixion  as  it  was  before  ?  Esora  shook  her  head. 
I  suppose  not,  Joseph  continued,  for  our  minds  draw  their 
lives  from  our  bodies.  He'll  be  a  different  man  if  he  comes 
up  from  his  sickness.  But  he  may  live  to  be  as  old  as  I  am, 
or  the  patriarchs,  she  returned.  With  a  different  mind,  he 
added.     So  I've  lost  him  in  life  whom  I  saved  from  death. 

Esora  did  not  ask  any  questions,  and  fearing  that  her 
master  might  tell  her  things  he  might  afterwards  regret 
having  said,  she  remarked  that  Jesus  would  be  needing 
the  crutches  in  about  another  week. 

And  it  was  in  or  about  that  time,  not  finding  Jesus  in 
the  cottage,  they  came  down  the  pathway  in  great  alarm, 
to  be  brought  to  a  sudden  stop  by  the  sight  of  Jesus  sitting 
under  the  cedars.  How  did  he  get  there  ?  Esora  cried, 
for  the  crutches  were  in  the  wood-shed.  They  were,  Esora, 
but  I  took  them  down  to  the  cottage  last  night,  and  see- 
ing them,  and  finding  they  fitted  him,  he  has  hobbled 
to  the  terrace.  But  he  mustn't  hobble  about  where  he 
pleases,  Esora  said.  He  is  a  sick  man  and  in  our  charge, 
and  if  he  doesn't  obey  us  he  may  fall  back  again  into  sick- 
ness.    The   bones   have   not    properly   set We   don't 

know  that  any  bones  were  broken,  do  we,  Esora  ?  We 
don't;  for  the  nails  may  have  pierced  the  feet  and  hands 
without  breaking  any.  But,  Master,  look !  Didst  ever 
see  such  imprudence  ?  Go !  drive  away  my  cat,  or  else  my 
work  will  be  undone. 

Her  cat,  large,  strong  and  supple  as  a  tiger,  had  advanced 
from  the  opposite  wood,  and,  unmindful  of  a  bitch  and  her 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  269 

puppies,  seated  himself  in  the  middle  of  the  terrace.  As 
he  sat  tidying  his  coat  the  puppies  conceived  the  foolish 
idea  of  a  gambol  with  him.  The  cat  continued  to  lick 
himself,  though  no  doubt  fully  aware  of  the  puppies'  inten- 
tion, and  it  was  not  till  they  were  almost  on  him  that  he 
rose,  hackle  erect,  to  meet  the  onset  in  which  they  would 
have  been  torn  badly  if  Jesus  had  not  hopped  hastily  for- 
ward and  menaced  him  with  his  crutches.  Even  then  the 
puppies,  unmindful  of  the  danger,  continued  to  dance 
round  the  cat.  You  little  fools,  he  will  have  your  eyes, 
Jesus  cried,  and  he  caught  them  up  in  his  arms,  but  unable 
to  manage  them  and  his  crutches  together,  he  dropped  the 
crutches  and  started  to  get  back  to  his  seat  without  them. 

It  was  this  last  imprudence  that  compelled  Esora  to  cry 
out  to  Joseph  that  her  work  would  be  undone  if  Joseph  did 
not  run  at  once  to  Jesus  and  give  him  his  crutches :  now. 
Master,  I  hope  ye  told  him  he  must  leave  cats  and  dogs 
alone,  she  said  as  soon  as  Joseph  returned  to  her.  If  he 
doesn't  we  shall  have  him  on  our  hands  all  the  winter. 
All  the  winter !  Joseph  repeated.  It  is  for  thee  to  say, 
Master,  how  long  he  is  to  stay  here ;  three  weeks,  till  he  is 
fit  to  travel,  or  all  the  winter,  it  is  for  thee  to  say.  Fit  to 
travel,  Joseph  repeated.  Why  should  he  leave  when  he  is 
fit  to  travel .?  he  asked.  Only,  Master,  because  it  will  be 
hard  to  keep  him  in  hiding  much  longer.  Secrets  take  a 
long  time  to  leak  out,  but  they  leak  out  in  the  end.  But 
I  may  be  wrong.  Master,  in  thinking  that  there  is  a  secret. 
I  hardly  know  anything  about  this  man,  only  that  thou 
broughtest  him  back  one  night.  So  thou'rt  not  certain  then 
that  there  is  a  secret,  Esora  ?  Joseph  said.  I  won't  say  that. 
Master,  for  I  can  see  by  his  back  that  he  has  been  scourged, 
and  cruelly,  she  answered.  His  hands  and  feet  testify  that 
he  has  been  on  the  cross.  Therefore,  Joseph  interposed, 
thou  judgest  him  to  be  a  malefactor  of  some  sort.  Master, 
I  would  judge  no  one.     He  is  what  thou  choosest  to  tell 


270  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

me  he  is.  Come  then,  Esora,  Joseph  replied,  and  I  will  tell 
thee  his  story  and  mine,  for  our  stories  have  been  strangely 
interwoven.  But  the  telling  will  take  some  time.  Come, 
let  us  sit  in  the  shade  of  the  acacia-trees  yonder;  there  is 
a  seat  there,  and  we  shall  be  in  view  of  our  sick  man,  ready 
to  attend  upon  him  should  he  require  our  attention. 

She  sat  listening,  immovable,  like  a  figure  of  stone,  her 
hands  hanging  over  her  knees.  And  when  he  told  how 
Jesus  opened  his  eyes  in  the  tomb,  and  how  he  carried  him 
through  the  rocks,  seeking  perhaps  to  astonish  her  a  little 
by  his  account  of  the  darkness,  and  the  wild  beasts,  he  said  : 
now  tell  me,  Esora,  if  I  could  have  done  else  but  bring 
him  here  on  my  shoulders.  True  it  is  that  Pilate  believed 
he  was  giving  me  not  a  live  but  a  dead  body;  but  Pilate 
wouldn't  expect  me  to  go  to  him  with  the  tidings  that  Jesus 
was  not  dead,  and  that  he  might  have  him  back  to  hoist  on 
to  a  cross  again.  Pilate  did  not  want  to  give  him  up  for 
crucifixion.  He  found  no  fault  with  him.  Dost  under- 
stand, Esora  ?  I  understand  very  well,  Master,  that  Pilate 
would  think  thee  but  a  false  friend  if  thou  hadst  acted  dif- 
ferently. He  would  not  have  thanked  thee  if  thou  hadst 
brought  back  this  man  to  him.  But,  Esora,  thy  face  wears 
a  puzzled  look.  One  thing  puzzles  me,  she  answered,  for 
I  cannot  think  what  could  have  put  it  into  his  head  that 
he  was  sent  into  the  world  to  suffer  for  others.  For  are  we 
not  all  suffering  for  others  ? 

The  simplicity  of  her  question  took  Joseph  aback,  and 
he  replied  :  I  suppose  thou'rt  right  in  a  way,  Esora.  Thou 
hast  no  doubt  suffered  for  thy  patents;  I  have  suffered 
for  my  father.  I  left  Galilee  to  keep  my  promise  not  to  see 
Jesus ;  when  I  heard  he  was  going  to  ride  into  Jerusalem  in 
triumph  on  an  ass  from  Bethany  I  ran  away  to  Jericho. 
Could  a  man  do  more  to  keep  his  promise  ?  But  it  was  of 
no  avail,  for  we  may  not  change  in  our  little  lives  the  fate  we 
were  branded  with  a  thousand  years  before  we  were  born. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  271 

Thou'rt  of  one  mind  with  me,  Esora,  that  I  couldn't 
have  left  him  to  die  in  the  sepulchre  ?  Thou  couldst  not 
have  done  such  a  thing  and  remained  thyself;  and  it  was 
God  that  gave  you  those  fine  broad  shoulders  for  the  burden. 
I  saw  thee  a  baby,  and  thou  hast  grown  into  a  fine  image 
like  those  they've  put  up  to  Caesar  in  Tiberias ;  and  then, 
as  if  abashed  by  her  familiarity,  she  began :  Master,  I 
wouldn't  wish  him  to  return  to  Jerusalem,  for  they  would 
put  him  on  the  cross  again,  but  he  had  better  leave  Judea. 
Art  thou  weary,  Esora,  of  attendance  on  him  ?  Joseph  asked, 
and  the  servant  answered :  have  I  ever  shown.  Master, 
that  I  found  attendance  on  him  wearisome  ?  He  is  so 
gentle  and  patient  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  attend  on  him, 
and  an  honour,  for  one  feels  him  to  be  a  great  man.  The 
highest  I  have  met  among  men,  Joseph  interposed,  and  I 
have  searched  diligently,  wishing  always  to  worship  the 
best  on  earth.  He  is  that,  and  maybe  there's  no  better  in 
heaven  ;   after  God  comes  Jesus. 

It  wouldn't  be  a  woman  then  that  thou  wouldst  choose 
to  meet  in  heaven,  but  a  man  ?  Men  love  women,  Joseph 
said,  for  their  corruptible  bodies,  and  women  love  men  for 
theirs ;  but  even  the  lecher  would  choose  rather  to  meet 
a  man  in  heaven,  and  the  wanton  another  woman.  If 
we  would  discover  whorn  we  love  most,  we  can  do  so  by 
asking  ourselves  whom  we  would  choose  to  meet  in  heaven. 
Heaven  without  Jesus  would  not  be  heaven  for  me.  But 
if  he  be  not  the  Messiah  after  all .?  Esora  asked.  Should 
I  love  him  less  ?  he  answered  her.  None  is  as  perfect  as 
he.  I  have  known  him  long,  Esora,  and  can  say  truly  that 
none  is  worthy  to  be  the  carpet  under  his  feet. 

I  have  never  spoken  like  this  before,  but  I  am  glad  to 
have  spoken,  for  now  thou  understandest  how  much  thou 
hast  done  for  me.  Thou  and  thy  balsam  and  thy  minis- 
tration. My  balsam,  she  answered,  has  done  better  than  I 
expected  it  would  do.     Thou  sawest  his  back  this  morning. 


272  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

One  can  call  it  cured.  His  hands  and  feet  have  mended 
and  his  strength  is  returning.  In  a  few  days  he  will  be 
fit  to  travel.  This  is  the  third  time,  Esora,  that  thou 
hast  said  he'll  be  able  to  travel  soon  —  yet  thou  sayest 
he  is  so  patient  and  gentle  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  attend 
on  him;  and  an  honour.  But,  Master,  the  danger  is  great, 
and  every  day  augments  the  danger.  Secrets,  as  I've  said, 
take  a  long  time  to  leak  out,  but  they  leak  out  in  time. 
Her  words  are  wise,  he  thought  to  himself,  and  he  over- 
looked her,  guessing  her  to  have  shrunken  to  less  than  her 
original  size;  she  seemed  but  a  handful  of  bones  and  yel- 
low skin,  but  when  she  looked  up  in  his  face  her  eyes  were 
alive,  and  from  under  a  small  bony  forehead  they  pleaded, 
and  with  quavering  voice  she  said  :  let  him  go,  dear  Master, 
for  if  the  Pharisees  seek  him  here  and  find  him,  he  will 
hang  again  on  the  cross.  Thou  wouldst  have  me  tell 
him,  Esora,  that  rumours  are  about  that  he  did  not  die 
on  the  cross  and  that  a  search  may  be  made  for  him.  I 
wouldn't  have  thee  speak  to  him  of  Pilate  or  his  crucifixion, 
Master,  for  we  don't  know  that  he'd  care  to  look  back 
upon  his  troubles ;  he  might  prefer  to  forget  them  as  far  as 
he  is  able  to  forget  them.  But  thou  canst  speak  to  him  of 
his  health.  Master,  which  increases  every  day,  and  of  the 
benefit  a  change  would  be  to  him.  Speak  to  him  if  thou 
wouldst  of  a  sea  voyage,  but  speak  not  of  anything  directly 
for  fear  of  perplexing  him.  Lead  rather  than  direct,  for 
his  mind  must  be  a  sort  of  maze  at  present.  A  great  deal 
has  befallen,  and  nothing  exactly  as  he  expected.  Nor 
would  I  have  thee  speak  to  him  of  anything  but  actual 
things;  speak  of  what  is  before  his  eyes  as  much  as  pos- 
sible; not  a  word  about  yesterday  or  of  to-morrow,  only 
so  far  as  his  departure  is  concerned.  Keep  his  thoughts 
on  actual  things.  Master:  on  his  health,  for  he  feels  that, 
and  on  the  dogs  about  his  feet,  for  he  sees  them ;  he  takes 
an  interest  in  them ;   let  him  speak  to  thee  of  them,  which 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  273 

will  be  better  still,  and  in  your  talk  about  dogs  many  things 
will  happen.  The  hills  about  Caesarea  may  be  mentioned ; 
see  that  they  are  mentioned;  ask  him  if  they  are  like  the 
hills  above  Jericho.  I  cannot  tell  thee  more,  Master,  but 
will  pray  that  thou  mayest  speak  the  right  words. 

A  shrewd  old  thing,  Joseph  thought,  as  he  went  towards 
Jesus,  looking  back  once  to  see  Esora  disappearing  into 
the  wood.  She'd  have  me  keep  his  thoughts  on  actual 
things,  he  continued,  and  seeing  that  Jesus  had  called 
the  puppies  to  him  and  was  making  himself  their  play- 
mate, he  asked  him  if  he  were  fond  of  dogs ;  whereupon 
Jesus  began  to  praise  the  bitch,  saying  she  was  of  better 
breeding  than  her  puppies,  and  that  when  she  came  on 
heat  again  she  should  be  sent  to  a  pure  Thracian  like  her- 
self. Joseph  asked,  not  because  he  was  interested  in  dog- 
breeding,  but  to  make  talk,  if  the  puppies  were  mongrels. 
Mongrels,  Jesus  repeated,  overlooking  them ;  not  alto- 
gether mongrels,  three-quarter  bred ;  the  dog  that  begot 
them  was  a  mongrel,  half  Syrian,  half  Thracian.  I've  seen 
worse  dogs  highly  prized.  Send  the  bitch  to  a  dog  of  pure 
Thracian  stock  and  thou'lt  get  some  puppies  that  will  be 
the  sort  that  I  used  to  seek. 

Joseph  waited,  for  he  expected  Jesus  to  speak  of  the 
Essenes  and  of  the  time  when  he  was  their  shepherd ;  but 
Jesus'  thoughts  seemed  to  have  wandered  from  dogs,  and 
to  bring  them  back  to  dogs  again  Joseph  interposed  :  Thou 
wast  then  a  shepherd  .''  But  Jesus  did  not  seem  to  hear 
him,  and  as  he  was  about  to  repeat  his  question  he  remem- 
bered that  Esora  told  him  to  keep  to  the  present  time. 
We  do  not  know,  she  said,  that  he  remembers,  and  if  he 
has  forgotten  the  effort  to  remember  will  fatigue  him, 
or  it  may  be,  she  had  added,  that  he  wishes  to  keep  his 
troubles  out  of  mind.  A  shrewd  old  thing,  Joseph  said 
to  himself,  and  he  sat  by  Jesus  considering  how  he  might  in- 
troduce the  subject  he  had  come  to  speak  to  Jesus  about, 

T 


274  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

the  necessity  of  his  departure  from  Judea,  But  as  no  natu- 
ral or  appropriate  remark  came  into  his  mind  to  make,  he 
sat  like  one  perplexed  and  frightened,  not  knowing  how  the 
silence  that  had  fallen  would  be  broken.  It  is  easy,  he 
thought,  for  Esora  to  say,  speak  only  of  present  things, 
but  it  is  hard  to  keep  on  speaking  of  things  to  a  man 
whose  thoughts  are  always  at  ramble.  But  if  I  speak 
to  him  of  his  health  an  occasion  must  occur  to  remind  him 
that  a  change  is  desirable  after  a  long  or  a  severe  illness. 
It  may  have  been  that  Joseph  did  not  set  forth  the  subject 
adroitly;  he  made  mention,  however,  of  a  marvellous 
recovery,  and  as  Jesus  did  not  answer  him  he  continued  : 
Esora  thought  that  thou  wouldst  be  able  to  get  as  far  as  the 
terrace  in  another  week,  but  thou'rt  on  the  terrace  to-day. 
Still  Jesus  did  not  answer  him,  and  feeling  that  nothing 
venture  nothing  win,  he  struck  boldly  out  into  a  sentence 
that  change  of  air  is  the  best  medicine  after  sickness.  Jesus 
remaining  still  unresponsive,  he  added  :  sea  air  is  better 
than  mountain  air,  and  none  as  beneficial  as  the  air  that 
blows  about  Caesarea. 

The  word  Caesarea  brought  a  change  of  expression  into 
Jesus'  face,  and  Joseph,  interpreting  it  to  mean  that  Jesus 
was  prejudiced  against  those  coasts,  hastened  to  say  that  a 
sick  man  is  often  the  best  judge  of  the  air  he  needs.  But, 
Joseph,  I  have  none  but  thee,  Jesus  said;  and  the  two 
men  sat  looking  into  each  other's  eyes,  Joseph  thinking 
that  if  Jesus  were  to  recover  his  mind  he  would  be  out- 
cast, as  no  man  had  ever  been  before  in  the  world  :  without 
a  country,  without  kindred,  without  a  belief  wherewith  to 
cover  himself;  for  nothing,  Joseph  said  to  himself  as  he 
sat  looking  into  Jesus's  eyes,  has  happened  as  he  thought 
it  would ;  and  no  man  finds  new  thoughts  and  dreams 
whereby  he  may  live.  I  did  not  foresee  this  double  naked- 
ness, or  else  might  have  left  him  to  die  on  the  cross.  Will 
he,  can  he,  forgive  me  ?     A  moment  afterwards  he  recovered 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  275 

hope,  for  Jesus  did  not  seem  to  know  that  the  hills  beyond 
the  terrace  were  the  Judean  hills,  and  then,  as  if  forgetting 
the  matter  in  hand  (his  projected  residence  in  Caesarea), 
he  began  to  speak  of  Bethlehem,  saying  he  could  not  think 
of  Bethlehem  without  thinking  of  Nazareth,  a  remark  that 
was  obscure  to  Joseph,  who  did  not  know  Nazareth.  It 
was  to  make  some  answer  —  for  Jesus  seemed  to  be  waiting 
for  him  to  answer  —  that  Joseph  said :  Nazareth  is  far 
from  Caesarea,  a  remark  that  he  soon  perceived  to  be  unfor- 
tunate, for  it  awakened  doubts  in  Jesus  that  he  was  no 
longer  welcome  in  Joseph's  house.  Why  speakest  thou  of 
Caesarea  to  me  ?  he  said.  Is  it  because  thou  wouldst  rid 
thyself  of  me  ?  Whereupon  Joseph  besought  Jesus  to 
lay  aside  the  thought  that  he,  Joseph,  wished  him  away. 
I  would  have  thee  with  me  always,  deeming  it  a  great 
honour ;  but  Esora  has  charge  of  thy  health  and  has  asked 
me  to  say  that  a  change  is  needed. 

My  health,  Jesus  interrupted.  Am  I  not  getting  my 
strength  quickly  ?  do  not  send  me  away,  Joseph,  for  I  am 
weak  in  body  and  in  mind ;  let  me  stay  with  thee  a  little 
longer;  a  few  days;  a  few  weeks.  If  I  go  to  Caesarea  I 
must  learn  Greek,  for  that  Is  the  language  spoken  there, 
and  thou'lt  teach  me  Greek,  Joseph.  Send  me  not  away. 
But  there  is  no  thought  of  sending  thee  away,  Joseph  an- 
swered ;  my  house  is  thy  house  for  as  long  as  thou  carest 
to  remain,  and  the  words  were  spoken  with  such  an  accent 
of  truth  that  Jesus  answered  them  with  a  look  that  went 
straight  to  Joseph's  heart ;  but  while  he  rejoiced  Jesus's  mind 
seemed  to  float  away  :  he  was  absent  from  himself  again,  and 
Joseph  had  begun  to  think  that  all  that  could  be  said  that 
day  had  been  said  on  the  subject  of  his  departure  from 
Judea,  when  a  little  memory  began  to  be  stirring  in  Jesus, 
as  Esora  would  say,  like  a  wind  in  a  field. 

I  remember  thee,  Joseph,  as  one  to  whom  I  did  a  great 
wrong,  but  what  that  wrong  was  I   have  forgotten.     Do 


276  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

not  try  to  recall  it,  Joseph  said  to  him,  no  wrong  was  done, 
Jesus.  Thou'rt  the  rich  man's  son,  he  said,  and  what 
I  remember  concerning  thee  is  thy  horse,  for  he  was  hand- 
somer than  any  other.  His  name  was  Xerxes.  Dost 
still  ride  him  ?  Is  he  in  the  stables  of  yon  house  ?  He 
was  sold,  Joseph  answered,  to  pay  for  our  journey  in  Syria, 
and  some  of  the  price  went  to  pay  for  thy  cloak.  The 
cloak  on  my  shoulders  ?  Jesus  asked.  The  cloak  on  thy 
shoulders  is  one  of  my  cloaks.  Thou  camest  here  naked. 
I  was  carried  here  by  an  angel,  Jesus  replied,  for  I  felt  the 
feathers  of  his  wings  brush  across  my  face.  But  why  that 
strange  look,  Joseph  ?  —  those  curious,  inquisitive  eyes  ? 
It  was  an  angel  that  carried  me  hither.  No,  Jesus,  it  was 
I  that  carried  thee  out  of  the  sepulchre  up  the  crooked 
path.  What  is  thy  purpose  in  saying  that  it  was  no  angel 
but  thou  ?  Jesus  asked ;  and  Joseph,  remembering  that  he 
must  not  say  anything  that  would  vex  Jesus,  regretted 
having  contradicted  him  and  tried  to  think  how  he  might 
mend  his  mistake  with  words  that  would  soothe  Jesus ; 
but,  as  it  often  is  on  such  occasions,  the  more  we  seek  for 
the  right  words  the  further  we  seem  to  be  from  them,  and 
Joseph  did  not  know  how  he  might  plausibly  unsay  his 
story  that  he  had  carried  him  without  vexing  Jesus  still 
further :  he  is  sure  an  angel  carried  him,  Joseph  said  :  he 
felt  the  feathers  of  the  wings  brush  across  his  face,  and  he  is 
now  asking  himself  why  I  lied  to  him. 

As  Joseph  was  thinking  that  it  might  be  well  to  say  that 
Bethlehem  was  like  Nazareth,  he  caught  sight  of  Jesus* 
face  as  pale  as  ashes,  more  like  a  dead  face  than  a  living, 
and  fearing  that  he  was  about  to  swoon  again  or  die,  Joseph 
called  loudly  for  Esora,  who  came  running  down  the  path- 
way. 

Thou  mustn't  call  for  me  so  loudly.  Master.     If  Matred 

had  heard  thee  and  come  running But,  Esora,  look. 

As  likely  as  not  it  is  no  more  than  a  little  faintness,  she  said. 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  277 

He  has  been  overdoing  It :  running  after  puppies,  and  talk- 
ing with  thee  about  Caesarea.  But  it  was  thyself  told  me 
to  ask  him  to  go  to  Caesarea  for  change  of  air.  Never  mind. 
Master,  what  I  told  thee.  We  must  think  now  how  we 
shall  get  him  back  to  bed.  Do  thou  take  one  arm  and  I'll 
take  the  other. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

JESUS  did  not  speak  about  angels  again,  and  one  morning 
at  the  end  of  the  week  before  going  away  to  Jerusalem  to 
attend  to  some  important  business  Joseph,  after  a  talk  with 
Esora,  turned  down  the  alley  with  the  intention  of  asking 
Jesus  to  leave  Judea.  It  would  have  been  better,  she  said 
to  herself,  if  he  had  waited  till  evening;  these  things  cannot 
be  settled  ofF-hand ;  he'll  only  say  the  wrong  thing  again, 
and  she  stood  waiting  at  her  kitchen  door,  hoping  that 
Joseph  would  stop  on  his  way  out  to  tell  her  Jesus'  decision, 
but  he  went  away  without  speaking,  and  she  began  to  think 
it  unlikely  that  anything  was  decided.  He  is  soft-hearted 
and  without  much  will  of  his  own,  she  said.  .  .  .  Jesus  is 
going  to  stay  with  us,  so  we  may  all  hang  upon  crosses  yet, 
unless,  indeed.  Master  comes  to  hear  something  in  Jerusalem 
that  will  bring  him  round  to  my  way  of  thinking.  He  be- 
lieves, she  continued,  that  Jesus  is  forgotten  because  the 
apostles  have  returned  to  their  fishing,  but  that  cannot  be; 
the  two  young  women  that  came  here  one  Sunday  morning 
with  a  story  about  an  empty  sepulchre  have  found,  I'll 
vouch,  plenty  of  eager  gossips,  and  a  smile  floated  round  her 
old  face  at  the  additions  she  heard  to  it  yester  morning  at  the 
gates.  But  no  good  would  come  of  my  telling  him,  she  medi- 
tated, for  he'd  only  say  it  was  my  fancies,  though  he  has  to 
acknowledge  that  I  am  always  right  when  I  speak  out  of  what 
he  calls  my  fancies.  In  about  three  weeks,  she  muttered,  the 
stories  that  are  going  the  round  will  begin  to  reach  his  ears. 
The  old  woman's  guess  was  a  good  one.  It  was  about 
that  time  the  camel-drivers,  assembled  in  the  yard  behind 

278 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  279 

the  counting-house,  began  to  tell  that  Jesus  had  been  raised 
from  the  dead,  and  their  stories,  being  overheard  by  the 
clerk,  were  reported  to  Joseph.  The  Pharisees  are  angry 
with  Pilate  for  not  having  put  a  guard  of  soldiers  over  the 
tomb,  the  clerk  was  saying,  when  Joseph  interjected  that  a 
guard  of  soldiers  would  be  of  no  avail  if  God  had  wished  to 
raise  Jesus  from  the  dead.  The  point  of  their  discourse, 
the  clerk  continued,  is  that  no  man  but  Jesus  died  on  the  cross 
in  three  hours;  three  days,  sir,  are  mentioned  as  the  usual 
time.  It  is  said  that  a  man,  sir,  often  lingers  on  until  the 
end  of  the  fourth  day.  Joseph  remained,  his  thoughts  sus- 
pended, and  the  clerk,  being  a  faithful  servant,  and  anxious 
for  Joseph's  safety,  asked  if  he  might  speak  a  word  of  counsel, 
and  reading  on  Joseph's  face  that  he  was  permitted  to  speak, 
he  said  :  I  would  have  you  make  an  end  of  these  rumours, 
sir,  and  this  can  be  done  if  you  will  attend  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Sanhedrin  and  make  plain  your  reason  for  having 
gone  to  Pilate  to  ask  him  for  the  body.  As  it  seemed  to 
Joseph  that  his  clerk  had  spoken  well,  he  attended  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Council,  but  the  business  that  the  councillors 
had  come  together  for  did  not  admit  of  interruption  for  the 
sake  of  personal  explanation,  however  interesting,  and  the 
hostility  of  everybody  to  him  was  notable  from  the  first. 
Only  a  few  personal  friends  spoke  to  him ;  among  them  was 
Nicodemus,  who  would  not  be  dismissed,  but  went  away 
with  him  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  beseeching  him  not  to 
cross  the  valley  unarmed,  and  if  thou  wouldst  not  draw 
attention  to  thyself  by  the  purchase  of  arms,  he  said,  I  will 
give  thee  the  arms  thou  needest  for  thyself  and  will  arm  some 
camel-drivers  for  thee.  I  thank  thee,  Nicodemus,  but  if  I 
were  to  return  home  accompanied  by  three  or  four  armed 
camel-drivers  I  should  draw  the  attention  of  Jerusalem  upon 
me,  thereby  quickening  the  anger  of  the  Pharisees,  and  my 
death  would  be  resolved  upon.  But  art  thou  sure  that 
the  hirelings  of  the  priests  haven't  been  told  to  kill  thee  ? 


28o  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Nicodemus  asked.  Pilate's  friendship  for  me  is  notorious, 
Joseph  repHed.  I'm  not  afraid,  Nicodemus,  and  it  is  well  for 
me  that  I'm  not,  for  assassination  comes  to  the  timorous. 
That  is  true,  Nicodemus  rejoined,  our  fears  often  bring  about 
our  destiny,  but  thou  shouldst  avoid  returning  by  the  valley ; 
return  by  the  eastern  gate  and  on  horseback.  But  that  way, 
Joseph  answered,  is  a  lonely  and  long  one,  and  thinking  it 
better  to  put  a  bold  face  on  the  matter,  though  his  heart 
was  beating,  he  began  to  speak  scornfully  of  the  Pharisees, 
who,  seemingly,  would  have  consented  to  a  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath.  He  had  done  no  more  than  any  other  Jew  who 
did  not  wish  the  Sabbath  to  be  desecrated,  and  remembering 
suddenly  that  Nicodemus  would  repeat  everything  he  said, 
he  spoke  again  of  Pilate's  friendship,  and  the  swift  vengeance 
that  would  follow  his  murder.  Pilate  is  my  friend,  and  who- 
ever kills  me  makes  sure  of  his  own  death.  I  do  not  doubt 
that  what  thou  sayest  is  true,  Joseph,  but  Pilate  may  be 
recalled,  and  it  may  suit  the  next  Roman  to  let  the  priests 
have  their  way.  I  am  going  to  Egypt  to-morrow,  he  said 
suddenly.  To  Egypt,  Joseph  repeated,  and  memories  awoke 
in  him  of  the  months  he  spent  in  Alexandria,  of  the  friends 
he  left  there,  of  the  Greek  that  he  had  taken  so  much  trouble 
to  perfect  himself  in,  and  the  various  philosophies  which  he 
thought  enlarged  his  mind,  though  he  pinned  his  faith  to 
none ;  and  reading  in  his  face  the  pleasure  given  by  the  word 
Egypt,  Nicodemus  pressed  him  to  come  with  him :  all  those 
who  are  suspected  of  sympathy  with  Jesus,  he  said,  will  do 
well  to  leave  Judea  for  a  year  at  least.  Alexandria,  as  thou 
knowest,  having  lived  there,  is  friendly  to  intellectual  dis- 
pute. In  Alexandria  men  live  in  a  kingdom  that  belongs 
neither  to  Caesar  nor  to  God.  But  all  things  belong  to  God. 
Joseph  replied.  Yes,  answered  Nicodemus ;  but  God  sets 
no  limits  to  the  mind,  but  priests  do  in  the  name  of  God. 
Remember  Egypt,  where  thou'lt  find  me,  and  glad  to  see 
thee,  .  .  . 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  281 

On  these  words  the  men  parted,  and  Joseph  descended 
into  the  valley  a  little  puzzled,  for  the  traditionalism  of 
Nicodemus  seemed  to  have  undergone  a  change.  But  more 
important  than  any  change  that  may  have  happened  in 
Nicodemus'  mind  was  the  journey  to  Egypt,  that  he  had 
proposed  to  Joseph.  Joseph  would  like  to  go  to  Egypt, 
taking  Jesus  with  him,  and  as  he  walked  he  beheld  in  im- 
agination Jesus  disputing  in  the  schools  of  philosophy,  but 
if  he  were  to  go  away  to  Egypt  the  promise  to  his  father 
would  be  broken  fully.  If  his  father  were  to  fall  ill  he  might 
die  before  the  tidings  of  his  father's  illness  could  reach  him ; 
a  year's  residence  in  Egypt  was,  therefore,  forbidden  to  him ; 
on  the  top  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  he  stopped,  so  that  he 
might  remember  that  Nicodemus'  disposition  was  always 
to  hear  the  clashing  of  swords ;  spears  are  always  glittering 
in  his  eyes  for  one  reason  or  another,  he  said,  and  though  he 
would  regret  a  friend's  death,  he  would  regard  it  as  being 
atoned  for  if  the  brawl  were  sufficiently  violent.  He  has 
gone  to  Egypt,  no  doubt,  because  it  is  pleasing  to  him  to 
believe  his  life  to  be  in  danger.  He  invents  reasons.  Pilate's 
recall !  Now  what  put  that  into  his  mind  ?  He  may  be 
right,  but  this  Mount  of  Olives  is  peaceful  enough  and  the 
road  beyond  leading  to  my  house  seems  safe  to  the  way- 
farer even  at  this  hour.  He  followed  the  road  in  a  quieter 
mood,  and  it  befell  that  Esora  opened  the  gates  to  him,  for 
which  he  thanked  her  abruptly  and  turned  away,  wishing 
to  be  alone ;  but  seeing  how  overcast  was  his  face,  she  did 
not  return  to  her  kitchen  as  she  had  intended,  but  remained 
with  him,  anxious  to  learn  if  the  rumours  she  knew  to  be 
current  had  reached  his  ears.  She  would  not  be  shaken  off 
by  silence,  but  followed  him  down  the  alley  leading  to  Jesus' 
cottage,  answering  silence  by  silence,  certain  in  this  way  to 
provoke  him  thereby  into  confidences.  They  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  into  the  wood  before  they  came  upon  Jesus  in 
front  of  a  heap  of  dead  leaves  that  he  had  raked  together. 


282  THE  BROOK   KERITH 

A  great  many  had  fallen,  he  said,  and  the  place  was  beginning 
to  look  untidy,  so  I  thought  I  would  gather  them  for  burning. 
Thou  must  not  tire  thyself,  Joseph  answered,  as  he  passed 
on  with  Esora,  asking  her  as  they  went  through  the  autumn 
woods  if  Jesus  found  the  rake  for  himself  or  if  she  gave  it 
to  him.  He  asked  me  if  he  might  be  allowed  to  feed  the 
chickens,  she  said,  and  I  would  have  let  him  if  Matred's 
window  did  not  overlook  the  yard.  Master,  the  hope  of 
getting  him  out  of  Judea  rests  upon  the  chance  that  he  may 
recover  his  mind,  and  staring  at  the  desert  all  day  won't 
help  him.  He  mustn't  brood,  and  as  there  is  no  work  like 
raking  up  leaves  to  keep  a  man's  thought  off  himself,  unless, 
indeed,  it  be  digging,  I  thought  I  had  better  let  him  have 
the  rake.  But  if  Matred  should  meet  him  ?  Joseph  asked. 
She  will  see  the  new  gardener  in  him,  that  will  be  all.  I 
told  her  last  night,  Esora  continued,  that  we  were  expecting 
the  new  gardener,  and  she  said  it  would  be  pleasant  to  have 
a  man  about  the  house  again.  But  he  mustn't  attempt  any 
hard  work  like  digging  yet  awhile;  he  has  done  enough 
to-day;  I'll  go  and  tell  him  to  put  away  the  rake  and  pass 
on  to  his  supper.  She  waited  for  Joseph  to  answer,  but  he 
was  in  no  humour  for  speech,  and  she  left  him  looking  at 
the  hills. 

A  cloud  lifts,  and  we  are;  another  cloud  descends,  and 
we  are  not;  so  much  do  we  know,  but  we  are  without  suffi- 
cient sight  to  discover  the  reason  behind  all  this  shaping  and 
reshaping,  for  like  all  else  we  ourselves  are  changing,  as 
Heraclitus  said  many  years  ago. 

And  while  thinking  of  this  philosopher,  whose  wisdom 
he  felt  to  be  more  satisfying  than  any  other,  he  paced  back 
and  forth,  seeking  a  little  while  longer  to  untie  the  knot 
that  all  men  seek  to  untie,  abandoning  at  last,  saying:  fate 
tied  it  securely  before  the  beginning  of  history,  and  on  these 
words  he  ran  up  the  steps  of  his  house,  pausing  on  the  threshold 
to  listen,  for  he  could  distinguish  Esora's  voice,  and  Matred's ; 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  283 

afterwards  he  heard  Jesus'  voice,  and  he  said :  Jesus  eats 
with  my  servants  in  the  kitchen  !  This  cannot  be,  and  he 
very  nearly  obeyed  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  which  was 
to  call  Jesus  and  tell  him  to  come  and  eat  his  supper  with 
him.  To  do  this,  however,  would  draw  Matred's  attention 
to  the  fact  that  Jesus  was  not  of  her  company  but  of  her 
master's,  and  distinctions  between  servants  and  master,  he 
continued,  are  not  for  him  who  thinks  in  eternal  terms. 

He  sat  at  table,  his  thoughts  suspended,  but  awakening 
suddenly  from  a  reverie,  of  which  he  remembered  nothing, 
he  rose  from  his  seat  and  went  to  the  kitchen  door,  regretting 
that  he  was  not  with  Jesus,  for  to  miss  his  words,  however 
slight  they  might  be,  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  loss  that  could 
not  be  repaired.  They  are  listening  to  him,  he  said,  with 
the  same  pleasure  that  I  used  to  do,  watching  his  eyes  light- 
ing his  words  on  their  way. 

At  that  moment  a  shuffling  of  feet  sent  him  back  to  his 
seat  again,  and  he  put  food  into  his  mouth  just  in  time  to 
escape  suspicion  of  eavesdropping.  I  thought,  Master, 
that  thy  supper  was  finished,  and  that  I  might  take  away 
the  plates.  I've  hardly  begun  my  supper,  Esora.  Your 
voices  in  the  kitchen  prevented  me  from  eating.  We  are 
sorry  for  that.  Master,  she  replied.  Make  no  excuses,  Esora. 
I  said  it  was  the  voices  in  the  kitchen  that  disturbed  me,  but 
in  truth  it  was  my  own  thoughts,  for  I  have  heard  many 
things  to-day  in  Jerusalem.  Esora's  face  brightened  and 
she  said  to  herself:  my  words  to  him  are  coming  true.  Sit 
here,  Esora,  and  I'll  tell  thee  what  I've  heard  to-day.  And 
while  Matred  listened  to  Jesus  in  the  kitchen  Esora  heard 
from  Joseph  that  the  camel-drivers  had  been  talking  of  the 
resurrection  in  the  yard  behind  the  counting-house,  and  that 
his  clerk's  advice  to  him  had  been  to  attend  the  Sanhedrin, 
and  make  plain  that  his  reason  for  going  to  Pilate  to  ask  for 
the  body  of  Jesus  was  because  he  did  not  wish  a  desecration 
of  the  Sabbath.     But  he  had  only  met  a  show  of  dark  faces, 


284  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

and  left  the  meeting  in  company  with  Nicodemus.  Esora, 
is  our  danger  as  great  as  this  young  man  says  it  is  ?  Master, 
I  have  always  told  thee  that  as  soon  as  Jesus  leaves  Judea 
he  will  be  safe  from  violence,  from  death,  and  we  shall  be 
safe  too,  but  not  till  then.  But  how  are  we  to  persuade  him 
to  leave  Judea,  Esora  ?  Thou  must  try,  Master,  to  per- 
suade him,  there  is  no  other  way.  He  is  talking  now  with 
Matred  in  the  kitchen.  Ask  him  to  come  here,  and  thou'lt 
see,  Esora,  the  sad  face  that  uplifts  when  I  speak  to  him  of 
Caesarea.  I'll  speak  for  thee.  Master,  she  answered,  and 
going  to  the  door  she  called  Jesus  to  them,  and  when  he 
stood  before  them  she  said  :  have  I  not  proved  a  good  phy- 
sician to  thee  ?  To-day  thy  back  gives  thee  no  trouble. 
Only  aching  a  bit,  he  answered,  from  stooping,  but  that 
will  pass  away.  And  my  balsam  having  cured  thy  feet 
and  hands,  is  it  not  right  that  I  should  take  a  pride  in  thee  ? 
And,  smiling,  Jesus  answered  :  had  I  voice  enough  I  would 
call  the  virtue  of  thy  balsam  all  over  the  world.  My  balsam 
has  done  well  with  thee,  but  a  change  is  needed  to  restore 
thee  to  thyself,  and  seeing  a  cloud  come  into  his  face,  she 
continued  :  we  weren't  talking  of  sending  thee  to  Caesarea, 
for  it  is  of  little  use  to  send  a  man  in  search  of  health  whither 
he  is  not  minded  to  go.  Our  talk  was  not  of  Caesarea.  But 
of  what  city  then  ?  Jesus  asked,  and  Esora  began  to  speak 
of  Alexandria,  and  Joseph,  thinking  that  she  repeated  in- 
differently all  that  she  had  heard  of  that  city  from  him, 
interrupted  her  and  began  to  discourse  about  the  several 
schools  of  philosophy  and  his  eagerness  to  hear  Jesus  among 
the  sages.  But  why  should  thy  philosophers  listen  to  me  ? 
Jesus  asked.  Because  thou'rt  wise.  No  man,  he  replied, 
is  wise  but  he  who  would  learn,  and  none  is  foolish  but  he 
who  would  teach.  If  there  are  learners  there  must  be 
teachers,  Joseph  said,  and  he  awaited  Jesus'  answer  eagerly, 
but  Esora,  fearing  their  project  would  be  lost  sight  of  in 
argument,  broke  in,  saying:  neither  teaching  nor  learning 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  285 

avails,  but  thy  health,  Jesus,  and  to-morrow  a  caravan 
starts  for  Egypt,  and  we  would  know  if  thou'lt  join  it,  for 
one  whom  thou  knowest  goes  with  it,  a  friend,  one  Nicodemus, 
a  disciple,  whose  love  for  thee  is  equal  to  my  master's. 

Jesus'  face  darkened,  but  he  said  nothing,  and  Esora 
asked  him  if  he  did  not  care  to  travel  with  Nicodemus,  and 
he  answered  that  if  he  went  to  Egypt  he  would  like  to  go 
with  Joseph.  But  my  master  has  business  here,  and  may 
not  leave  it  easily.  Is  this  so,  Joseph  ?  Jesus  asked,  and 
Joseph  answered  :  it  is  true  that  I  have  business  here,  but 
there  are  other  reasons,  and  weightier  ones  than  the  one 
Esora  has  put  before  thee,  why  I  may  not  leave  Jerusalem 
and  go  to  live  in  Egypt.  But  wouldst  thou  have  me  go  to 
Egypt  with  Nicodemus,  Joseph  ?  Jesus  asked,  and  Joseph 
could  not  do  else  than  say  that  the  companion  he  would 
choose  would  not  be  one  whose  tongue  was  always  at  babble. 
But  wilt  thou  go  to  Egypt,  he  asked,  if  I  tell  thee  that  it  is 
for  thy  safety  and  for  ours  that  we  propose  this  voyage  to 
thee  ?     And  Jesus  answered  :  be  it  so. 

Then,  Jesus,  we'll  make  plans  together,  Esora  and  myself, 
for  thy  departure ;  and  having  thanked  him,  Jesus  returned 
to  Matred  in  the  kitchen,  and  they  could  hear  him  talking 
with  her  while  they  debated,  and  as  soon  as  the  kitchen  door 
closed  Joseph  told  Esora  that  he  could  not  break  the  promise 
he  gave  to  his  father,  and  it  was  this  very  promise  that  she 
strove  to  persuade  him  to  forgo.  For  it  is  the  only  way,  she 
said,  and  he,  agreeing  with  her,  said  :  though  I  have  promised 
my  father  not  to  keep  the  company  of  Jesus,  it  seems  to  me 
that  I  should  be  negligent  in  my  duty  towards  Jesus  if  I  did 
not  go  with  him  to  Egypt ;  and  Esora  said :  that  is  well 
said.  Master,  and  now  we  will  go  to  our  beds.  God  often 
counsels  us  in  sleep  and  warns  us  against  hasty  promises. 

And  it  was  as  he  expected  it  would  be :  he  was  that  night 
disturbed  by  a  dream  in  which  his  father  appeared  to  him 
wearing  a  distressful  face,  saying :  I  have  a  blessing  that  I 


286  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

would  give  to  thee.  There  were  more  words  than  this,  but 
Joseph  could  not  remember  them ;  but  the  words  he  did 
remember  seemed  to  him  a  warning  that  he  must  not  leave 
Judea ;  and  Jesus  was  of  one  mind  with  him  when  he  heard 
them  related  on  the  terrace.  A  son,  he  said,  must  always  be 
obedient  to  his  father,  and  love  him  before  other  men. 

Whereupon  Esora,  who  was  standing  by  when  these  words 
were  spoken,  was  much  moved,  for  she,  too,  believed  in 
dreams  and  their  interpretation,  and  she  could  put  no  other 
interpretation  upon  Joseph's  dream  than  that  he  was  for- 
bidden to  go  to  Egypt.  But  Joseph  might  write,  she  said, 
to  some  of  his  friends  in  Egypt,  and  they  could  send  a  friend, 
if  they  wished  it,  who  would  meet  Jesus  at  Jericho;  and 
this  plan  was  in  dispute  till  all  interest  in  Egypt  faded  from 
their  minds,  and  they  began  to  talk  of  other  countries  and 
cities ;  of  Athens  and  Corinth  we  were  talking,  Joseph  said 
to  Esora,  who  had  come  again  into  the  room,  and  of  India, 
of  Judea.  But  if  Jesus  were  to  go  to  India  we  should  never 
see  him  again,  she  answered.  It  is  thy  good  pleasure. 
Master,  to  arrange  the  journey,  and  when  it  is  arranged  to 
thy  satisfaction  thou'lt  tell  me,  though  I  do  not  know  why 
thou  shouldst  consult  me  again.  I  came  to  tell  thee  that 
one  of  thy  camel-drivers  has  come  with  the  news  that  the 
departure  of  the  caravan  for  Egypt  has  been  advanced  by 
two  days.  But  if  thou'rt  thinking  of  Egypt  no  longer  I 
may  send  him  away.  Tell  him  to  return  to  the  counting- 
house,  and  that  there  is  no  order  for  to-day,  Joseph  replied. 
You  will  settle  the  journey  between  you,  Esora  said,  turn- 
ing back  on  her  way  to  the  kitchen  to  speak  once  more.  She 
would  have  me  go,  Jesus  said.  Put  that  thought  out  of  thy 
mind,  Joseph  replied  quickly,  for  it  is  not  a  true  thought. 
Thou  shouldst  have  guessed  better;  it  is  well  that  thou 
goest,  but  we  must  find  the  country  and  the  city  that  is 
agreeable  to  thee,  and  that  will  be  discovered  in  our  talk  in 
the  next  few  days,  to  which  Jesus  answered  nothing ;   and  at 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  287 

the  end  of  the  next  few  days,  though  much  had  been  said, 
it  seemed  to  Joseph  that  Jesus'  departure  was  as  far  away 
as  ever.  It  has  become,  he  said  to  Esora,  a  Httle  dim.  I 
know  nothing,  he  continued,  of  Jesus'  mind. 

On  these  words  he  went  to  his  counting-house  distracted 
and  sad,  expecting  to  hear  from  his  clerk  that  the  story 
of  Jesus'  resurrection  was  beginning  to  be  forgotten  in 
Jerusalem,  but  the  clerk  knew  nothing  more,  and  was  eager 
to  speak  on  another  matter.  Pilate  had  sent  soldiers  to 
prevent  a  multitude  from  assembling  at  the  holy  mountain, 
Gerizim,  for  the  purpose  of  searching  for  some  sacred  vessels 
hidden  there  by  Moses,  so  it  was  said.  Many  had  been 
slain  in  the  riot,  and  the  Samaritans  had  made  representa- 
tions to  Vitellius,  artfully  worded,  the  clerk  said,  and  dan- 
gerous to  Pilate,  for  Vitellius  had  a  friend  whom  he  would 
like  to  put  in  Pilate's  place.  Joseph  sat  thinking  that  it  was 
not  at  all  unlikely  he  was  about  to  lose  his  friend  and  pro- 
tector, and  the  clerk,  seeing  his  master  troubled,  dropped 
in  the  words :  nothing  has  been  settled  yet.  Joseph  gave 
no  heed,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  a  messenger  came  from 
the  Praetorium  to  tell  Joseph  that  Pilate  wished  to  see  him. 
We  shall  not  meet  again,  Joseph,  unless  you  come  to  Rome, 
and  you  must  come  quickly  to  see  me  there,  for  my  health 
is  declining.  We  have  been  friends,  such  friends  as  may 
rarely  consist  with  Roman  and  Hebrew,  he  said,  and  the 
words  stirred  up  a  great  grief  in  Joseph's  heart,  and  when 
he  returned  that  evening  to  his  house  he  was  overcome 
by  the  evil  tidings,  but  he  did  not  convey  them  to  Esora 
that  evening,  nor  the  next  day,  nor  the  day  afterwards, 
and  they  becoming  such  a  great  torment  in  his  heart  he 
did  not  care  to  go  to  his  counting-house,  but  remained  wait- 
ing in  his  own  rooms,  or  walking  in  the  garden,  startled  by 
every  noise  and  by  every  shadow. 

Day  passed  over  day,  and  it  was  one  of  the  providers 
that  came  to  the  gates  that  brought  the  news  of  Pilate's 


288  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

departure  to  Esora,  and  when  she  had  gotten  it  she  came 
to  Joseph,  saying :  so  your  friend  Pilate  has  been  ordered 
to  Rome  ?  He  has,  indeed,  Joseph  answered,  overcome  by 
the  intrigues  of  the  Samaritans,  who  sought  to  assemble 
together,  not  so  much  to  discover  sacred  vessels  as  to  bring 
about  a  change  of  government.  We  are  beset  with  danger, 
Esora,  for  it  has  come  to  my  mind  that  the  stories  about 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  may  be  kindled  again, 
and  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  incite  the  priests  against  me; 
everybody  is  saying  that  I  was  the  last  man  to  see  Jesus, 
and  must  know  where  his  body  is  hidden ;  that  is  enough 
for  the  priests,  and  they  will  send  up  a  band  of  Zealots  to 
seek  him  in  this  garden.  There  is  no  place  here  where  we 
can  hide  him  from  them.  That  is  why  I  haven't  been  to 
my  counting-house  for  three  days,  fearing  to  leave  thee  and 
Matred  alone  with  him,  for  they  would  surely  choose  the 
time  when  I  was  away  in  Jerusalem  to  plunder  my  house. 
As  he  was  saying  these  things  Matred  came  into  the  room 
with  some  wood  for  the  fire,  but  before  throwing  the  logs 
on  the  hearth  that  Jesus  carried  up  she  looked  at  them,  and 
it  seemed  to  Joseph  her  eyes  were  full  of  suspicion,  and  as 
soon  as  she  left  the  room  he  said  :  now  why  did  she  bring  the 
logs  into  the  room  while  we  were  talking  of  Jesus,  and  why 
did  she  mention  that  he  carried  them  up  this  afternoon, 
having  felled  a  dead  tree  this  morning  ? 

Esora  tried  to  persuade  him  that  his  fears  were  imaginary, 
but  she  too  feared  that  Matred  might  begin  to  suspect  that 
Jesus  was  no  ordinary  gardener;  she  had  said,  ye  speak 
strangely  in  Galilee,  and  to  kindle  the  story  again  it  would 
only  be  necessary  for  somebody  to  come  up  to  the  gates  and 
ask  her  if  one,  Jesus,  a  Galilean,  was  known  to  her,  one  that 
Pilate  condemned  to  the  cross.  Her  answer  would  be: 
there  is  one  here  called  Jesus,  he  is  a  Galilean,  and  may  have 
been  on  the  cross  for  aught  I  know.  And  such  answer 
would  be  carried  back  to  the  priests,  who  would  order  their 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  289 

hirelings  to  make  a  search  for  Jesus,  and  the  master  and 
servant  often  sat  of  an  evening  Hstening  to  the  wind  in  the 
chimney,  thinking  it  was  warning  them  of  the  raid  of  the 
Jews.  If  a  tree  fell  it  was  an  omen,  and  they  related  their 
dreams  to  each  other  in  the  alleys  of  the  gardens,  till  it  oc- 
curred to  them  that  to  be  seen  in  long  converse  together 
would  awaken  Matred's  suspicion.  The  shutters  were  put  up 
and  they  sat  in  the  dark  afraid  to  speak  lest  the  walls  had  ears. 
Esora,  who  was  the  braver  of  the  two,  often  said,  Master, 
strive  to  quell  thy  fears,  for  the  new  procurator  has  given 
pause  to  the  story  of  the  resurrection.  We  have  heard  little 
of  it  lately,  and  Jesus  is  beginning  to  be  forgotten.  Not  so, 
Esora,  for  to-day  I  heard  —  and  Joseph  began  a  long 
relation  which  ended  always  with  the  phrase :  we  are  beset 
with  danger.  We  have  been  saying  that  now  for  a  long 
while,  Esora  answered,  yet  nothing  has  befallen  us  yet,  and 
what  cannot  be  cured  must  be  endured.  We  must  bear  with 
him.  If,  Esora,  I  could  bring  myself  to  break  all  promises 
with  my  father  and  go  away  with  him  to  Egypt  this  misery 
would  be  ended.  Master,  thou  canst  not  do  this  thing; 
thou  hast  been  thinking  of  it  all  the  winter,  and  were  it 
possible  it  would  be  accomplished  already.  If  it  hadn't 
been  for  that  dream  —  and  Joseph  began  to  relate  again 
the  dream  related  many  times  before.  Forget  thy  dream. 
Master,  Esora  said  to  him,  for  it  will  not  help  us;  as  I  have 
said,  what  cannot  be  cured  must  be  endured.  We  must 
put  our  trust  in  time,  which  brings  many  changes;  and  in 
the  spring  something  will  befall;  he'll  be  taken  from  us. 
The  spring,  Esora  ?  And  in  safety  ?  Tell  me,  and  in  safety  ? 
Nay,  Master,  I  cannot  tell  thee  more  than  I  have  said; 
something  will  befall,  but  what  that  thing  may  be  I  cannot 
say.  Will  it  be  in  the  winter  or  in  the  spring  ?  It  will  be  in 
February  or  March,  she  said.  It  was,  however,  before  then, 
in  January  (the  winter  being  a  mild  one,  the  birds  were  al- 
ready singing  in  the  shaws),  that  a  camel-driver  came  to  the 
u 


290  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

house  on  the  hillside  to  tell  Joseph  that  a  camel  had  been 
stolen  from  them  on  their  way  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem 
during  the  night  or  in  the  early  morning,  and  with  many 
words  and  movements  of  the  hands,  that  irritated  Joseph, 
he  sought  to  describe  the  valley  where  they  pitched  their 
tent.  Get  on  with  thy  story,  Joseph  said;  and  the  man 
told  that  they  had  succeeded  in  tracking  the  band,  a  small 
one,  to  a  cave,  out  of  which,  he  said,  it  will  be  easy  to  smoke 
them  if  Fadus,  the  procurator,  will  send  soldiers  at  once, 
for  they  may  go  on  to  another  cave,  not  deeming  it  safe  to 
remain  long  in  the  same  one.  Didst  beg  the  camel  back  from 
the  robbers  ?  Joseph  asked,  for  he  was  not  thinking  of  the 
robbery,  but  of  his  meeting  with  Fadus.  No,  Master,  there 
was  no  use  doing  that.  They  would  have  taken  our  lives. 
But  we  followed  them,  spying  them  from  behind  rocks  all 
the  way,  and  the  cave  having  but  one  entrance  they  can 
be  smoked  to  death  with  a  few  trusses  of  damp  straw.  But 
care  must  be  taken  lest  our  camel  perish  with  them.  If  we 
could  get  them  to  give  up  the  camel  first,  I'm  thinking 

It  was  a  serious  matter  to  hear  that  robbers  had  again 
established  themselves  in  the  hills;  and  while  Joseph  pon- 
dered the  disagreeable  tidings  a  vagrant  breeze  carried  the 
scent  of  the  camel-driver's  sheepskin  straight  into  Jesus' 
nostrils  as  he  came  up  the  path  with  a  bundle  of  faggots  on 
his  shoulders.  He  stopped  at  first  perplexed  by  the  smell 
and  then,  recognising  it,  he  hurried  forward,  till  he  stood 
before  the  spare  frame  and  withered  brown  face  of  the  desert 
wanderer. 

Joseph  looked  on  puzzled,  for  Jesus  stood  like  one  in 
ecstatic  vision  and  began  to  put  questions  to  the  camel- 
driver  regarding  the  quality  of  the  sheep  the  shepherds  led, 
asking  if  the  rams  speeded,  if  there  were  many  barren  ewes 
in  the  flock,  and  if  there  was  as  much  scab  about  as  formerly, 
questions  that  one  shepherd  might  put  to  another,  but  which 
seemed  strangely  out  of  keeping  with  a  gardener's  interests. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  291 

The  camel-driver  answered  Jesus'  questions  as  well  as  he 
was  able,  and  then,  guessing  a  former  shepherd  in  the  gar- 
dener, he  asked  if  Jesus  had  ever  led  a  flock.  Joseph  tried 
to  interrupt,  but  the  interruption  came  too  late;  Jesus 
blurted  out  that  for  many  years  he  was  a  shepherd.  And 
who  was  thy  master  ?  the  camel-driver  asked ;  Jesus  an- 
swered that  he  was  in  those  days  an  Essene  living  in  the 
great  settlement  on  the  eastern  bank  of  Jordan.  Where- 
upon the  camel-driver  began  to  relate  that  Brother  Amos 
was  not  doing  well  with  the  sheep  and  that  some  of  the 
brethren  were  gone  to  the  Brook  Kerith  and  had  taken 
possession  of  a  cave  in  the  rocks  above  it.  The  camel-driver 
was  about  to  begin  to  make  plain  this  Amos'  misunder- 
standing of  sheep,  but  Jesus  interrupted  him.  Who  may 
their  president  be  ?  he  asked  ;  and  with  head  bent,  scratching 
his  poll,  the  camel-driver  said  at  last  that  he  thought  it  was 
Hazael.  Hazael !  Jesus  answered,  and  forthwith  his  in- 
terest in  the  camel-driver  began  to  slacken.  The  anemone 
is  on  the  hills  to-day,  he  said,  and  Joseph  looked  at  him 
reproachfully ;  his  eyes  seemed  to  say :  hast  forgotten  so 
easily  the  danger  we  passed  through  by  keeping  thee  here, 
counting  it  as  nothing,  so  great  was  our  love  of  thee  ^  — 
and  Jesus  answering  that  look  replied  :  but,  Joseph,  how 
often  didst  thou  speak  to  me  of  Cassarea,  Alexandria,  Athens, 
and  other  cities.  Esora,  too,  was  anxious  that  I  should 
leave  Judea  .  .  .  for  my  sake  as  well  as  yours.  India  was 
spoken  of,  but  the  Brook  Kerith  is  not  twenty  odd  miles 
from  here  and  I  shall  be  safe  among  the  brethren.  Why 
this  silence,  Joseph  ?  and  whence  comes  this  change  of 
mood  ^  Jesus  asked,  and  Joseph  began  to  speak  of  the  part- 
ing that  awaited  them.  But  there'll  be  no  parting,  Jesus 
interposed.  Thou'lt  ride  thy  ass  out  to  meet  me,  and  we 
shall  learn  to  know  each  other,  for  thou  knowest  nothing 
of  me  yet,  Joseph.  Thou'lt  bring  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a 
flagon  of  wine  in  thy  wallet,  and  we  shall  share  it  together. 


292  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

I  shall  wait  for  thy  coming  on  the  hillside.  Even  so,  Jesus, 
I  am  sad  that  our  life  here  among  the  trees  in  this  garden 
should  have  come  to  an  end.  We  were  frightened  many 
times,  but  what  we  suffered  is  now  forgotten.  The  pleasure 
of  having  thee  with  us  alone  is  remembered.  But  it  is  true 
we  have  been  estranged  here.  May  we  start  to-night  ? 
Jesus  asked,  and  Joseph  said :  if  a  man  be  minded  to  leave, 
it  is  better  that  he  should  leave  at  once. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

AN  hour  later,  about  two  hours  before  midnight,  they  were 
riding  into  the  desert,  Hghted  by  a  late  moon  and  incommoded 
by  two  puppies  that  Jesus  could  not  be  dissuaded  from  bring- 
ing with  him  :  for  if  Brother  Amos  give  up  his  flock  to  me, 
he  argued,  I  shall  need  dogs.  But  Brother  Amos  will  give 
thee  his  dogs,  Joseph  said.  A  shepherd,  Jesus  answered, 
cannot  work  with  any  dogs  but  his  own.  But  what  has 
become  of  the  dogs  that  were  left  behind  ?  Joseph  asked, 
and  not  being  able  to  tell  him,  Jesus  fell  to  wondering  how 
it  was  he  had  forgotten  his  dogs.  At  that  moment  one  of 
the  puppies  cried  to  be  let  down :  see  how  well  he  follows, 
Jesus  said,  but  hardly  were  the  words  passed  his  lips  than 
the  puppy  turned  tail,  and  Jesus  had  to  chase  him  very 
nearly  back  to  Bethany  before  he  allowed  himself  to  be  over- 
taken and  picked  up  again.  The  way  is  long,  Joseph  cried, 
more  than  seven  hours  to  the  city  of  Jericho,  and  if  these 
chases  happen  again  we  shall  be  overtaken  by  the  daylight. 
One  of  my  caravans  starts  from  Jericho  at  dawn ;  and  if  we 
meet  it  I  shall  have  my  camel-drivers  round  me  asking  per- 
tinent questions  and  may  be  compelled  to  return  with  them 
to  Jericho.  Come,  Jesus,  thine  ass  seems  willing  to  amble 
down  this  long  incline;  and  dropping  the  reins  over  the 
animal's  withers,  and  leaning  back,  holding  a  puppy  under 
each  arm,  Jesus  allowed  the  large  brown  ass  he  was  riding 
to  trot ;  it  was  not  long  before  he  left  far  behind  the  heavy 
weighted  white  ass,  which  carried  Joseph. 

Now  seeing  the  distance  lengthening  out  between  them 
Joseph  was  tempted  to  cry  to  Jesus  to  stop,  but  dared  not, 

293 


294  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

lest  he  might  awaken  robbers  (their  strongholds  having 
lately  been  raided  by  soldiers),  and  he  had  in  mind  the 
fugitives  that  might  be  lurking  in  the  hills,  so  instead  of 
crying  to  Jesus  to  hold  hard,  he  urged  his  ass  forward.  But 
the  best  speed  he  could  make  was  not  sufficient  to  overtake 
the  nimbly  trotting  brown  ass,  and  the  pursuit  might  have 
been  continued  into  Jericho  if  Jesus  had  not  been  suddenly 
behoven  by  the  silence  to  stop  and  wait  for  Joseph  to  over- 
take him,  which  he  did  in  about  ten  minutes,  whispering : 
ride  not  so  fast,  robbers  may  be  watching  for  travellers. 
Not  at  this  hour,  Jesus  replied ;  and  he  prepared  to  ride  on. 
This  time  one  of  the  puppies  succeeded  in  getting  away  and 
might  have  run  back  again  to  Bethany  had  not  Joseph 
leapt  from  his  ass  and  driven  him  back  to  Jesus  with  loud 
cries  that  the  ravines  repeated  again  and  again.  If  there 
were  robbers  asleep,  thy  cries  would  awaken  them.  True, 
true,  Joseph  replied ;  I  forgot ;  and  he  vowed  he  would  not 
utter  another  word  till  they  passed  a  certain  part  of  the 
road,  advantageous,  he  said,  to  robbers.  No  better  spot 
between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho  for  murder  and  robbery,  he 
continued :  cast  thine  eyes  down  into  the  ravine  into  which 
he  could  throw  us.  But  if  a  robber  should  fall  upon  me  do 
not  stay  to  defend  me ;  ride  swiftly  to  the  inn  for  help,  and, 
despite  the  danger,  Joseph  rode  in  front  of  Jesus,  sustained 
by  the  hope  that  the  good  fortune  that  attended  him  so  far 
would  attend  him  to  the  end.  And  they  rode  on  through 
the  grey  moonlight  till  a  wolf  howled  in  the  distance.  Joseph 
bent  over  and  whispered  in  Jesus'  ear :  hold  thy  puppies 
close  to  thy  bosom,  Jesus,  for  if  one  be  dropped  and  start 
running  back  to  Bethany  he  will  be  overtaken  easily  by  that 
wolf  and  thou'lt  never  hear  of  him  again.  Jesus  held  the 
puppies  tighter,  but  there  was  no  need  to  do  so,  for  they 
seemed  to  know  that  the  howl  was  not  of  their  kin.  The 
wolf  howled  again,  and  was  answered  by  another  wolf.  The 
twain  have  missed  our  trail,  Joseph  said,  and  had  there  been 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  295 

more  we  might  have  had  to  abandon  our  asses.  If  we 
hasten  we  shall  reach  the  inn  without  molestation  from 
robbers  or  wolves.  How  far  are  we  from  the  inn,  Jesus  ."* 
About  two  hours,  Jesus  answered,  and  Joseph  fell  to  gazing 
on  the  hills,  trying  to  remember  them,  but  unable  to  do  so, 
so  transformed  were  they  in  the  haze  of  the  moonlight  be- 
yond their  natural  seeming.  They  attracted  him  strangely, 
the  hills,  dim,  shadowy,  phantasmal,  rising  out  of  their  loneli- 
ness towards  the  bright  sky,  a  white  cliff  showing  sometimes 
through  the  greyness ;  the  shadow  of  a  rock  falling  sometimes 
across  a  track  faintly  seen  winding  round  the  hills,  every 
hill  being,  as  it  were,  a  stage  in  the  ascent. 

As  the  hills  fell  back  behind  the  wayfarers  the  inn  began 
to  take  shape  in  the  pearl-coloured  haze,  and  the  day  Joseph 
rested  for  the  first  time  in  this  inn  rose  up  in  his  memory 
with  the  long-forgotten  wanderers  whom  he  had  succoured 
on  the  occasion  :  the  wizened  woman  in  her  black  rags  and 
the  wizened  child  in  hers.  They  came  up  from  the  great 
desert  and  for  the  last  fifteen  days  had  only  a  little  camel's 
milk,  so  they  had  said,  and  like  rats  they  huddled  together 
to  eat  the  figs  he  distributed. 

He  had  seen  the  inn  many  times  since  then  and  the 
thought  came  into  his  mind  that  he  would  never  see  it 
again.  But  men  are  always  haunted  by  thoughts  of  an 
impending  fate,  he  said  to  himself,  which  never  befalls. 
But  it  has  befallen  mine  ass  to  tire  under  my  weight,  he 
cried.  He  must  be  very  tired,  Jesus  answered,  for  mine 
is  tired,  and  I've  not  much  more  than  half  thy  weight; 
and  the  puppies  are  tired,  tired  of  running  alongside  of  the 
asses,  and  tired  of  being  carried,  and  ourselves  are  tired 
and  thirsty ;  shall  we  knock  at  the  door  and  cry  to  the 
innkeeper  that  he  rouse  out  of  his  bed  and  give  us  milk  for 
the  puppies  if  he  have  any.  I  wouldn't  have  him  know 
that  I  journeyed  hither  with  thee,  Joseph  replied,  for  stories 
are  soon  set  rolling.     Esora  has  put  a  bottle  of  water  into 


296  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

the  wallet;  the  puppies  will  have  to  lap  a  little.  We  can 
spare  them  a  little  though  we  are  thirstier  than  they.  She 
had  put  bread  and  figs  into  the  wallet,  so  they  were  not  as 
badly  off  as  they  thought  for;  and  eating  and  drinking  and 
talking  to  the  puppies  and  feeding  them  the  while,  the 
twain  stood  looking  through  the  blue,  limpid,  Syrian  night. 
At  the  end  of  a  long  silence  Jesus  said  :  the  dawn  begins; 
look,  Joseph,  the  stars  are  not  shining  as  brightly  over 
the  Jericho  hills  as  they  were.  But  Joseph  could  not  see 
that  the  stars  were  dimmer.  Are  they  not  withdrawing } 
Jesus  asked,  and  then,  forgetful  of  the  stars,  his  thoughts 
went  to  the  puppies :  see  how  they  crouch  and  tremble 
under  the  wall  of  the  garth.  Now  there  must  be  a  wolf 
about,  he  said,  and  after  he  had  thrown  a  stone  to  hasten 
the  animal's  departure  he  began  to  talk  to  the  puppies, 
telling  them  they  need  have  no  fear  of  wolves,  for  when 
they  were  full-grown  and  were  taught  by  him  they  would 
not  hold  on  but  snap  and  snap  again.  That  is  how  the 
Thracian  dogs  fight,  like  the  wolves,  he  said,  turning  to 
Joseph.  He  is  thinking,  Joseph  said  to  himself,  of  sheep 
and  dogs  and  being  a  shepherd  again.  But  of  what  art 
thou  thinking,  Joseph  ?  —  of  that  strip  of  green  sky  which 
is  the  dawn  ?  I  can  see,  now,  that  thy  shepherd  eyes  did 
not  deceive  thee,  Joseph  answered.  The  day  begins  again ; 
and  how  wonderful  is  the  return  of  the  day,  hill  after  hill 
rising  out  of  the  shadow.  An  old  land,  he  said,  like  the  end 
of  the  world.  Why  like  the  end  of  the  world  ?  Jesus  asked. 
Joseph  had  spoken  casually;  he  regretted  the  remark,  and 
while  he  sought  for  words  that  would  explain  it  away  a 
train  of  camels  came  through  the  dusk  rocking  up  the  hill- 
side, swinging  long  necks,  one  bearing  on  its  back  what 
looked  like  a  gigantic  bird.  A  strange  burden,  Joseph  said, 
and  what  it  may  be  I  cannot  say,  but  the  camels  are  my 
camels,  and  thou  art  safe  out  of  sight  under  the  wall  of  this 
garth. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  297 

A  moment  after  a  word  was  passed  up  the  line  that  the 
master  had  bidden  a  halt,  and  one  of  the  camel-drivers 
said :  She  stopped  half-an-hour  ago  to  drop  her  young 
one,  and  we  put  him  on  the  dam's  back,  and  she  doesn't 
feel  his  weight.  We  shall  rest  for  an  hour  between  this 
and  Jerusalem,  and  when  we  lift  him  down  he'll  find  the 
dug.  But  I've  a  letter  for  you.  Master,  from  Gaddi,  who 
wishes  to  see  you.  I  thought  to  deliver  it  in  Jerusalem. 
It  was  fortunate  to  meet  you  here.  Gaddi  will  see  you 
half-a-day  sooner  than  he  hoped  for.  I  shall  get  to  him 
by  midday,  Joseph  said,  raising  his  eyes  from  the  letter. 
By  midday,  Master?  Why,  in  early  morning  I  should 
have  thought  for,  unless,  indeed,  you  bide  here  till  the 
innkeeper  opens  his  doors.  I  have  business,  Joseph  an- 
swered, with  the  Essenes  that  have  settled  in  a  cave  above 
the  Brook  Kerith.  About  whom,  the  camel-driver  inter- 
jected, there  be  much  talk  going  in  Jericho.  They've 
disputed  among  themselves,  some  remaining  where  they 
always  were  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Jordan,  but  ten  or 
a  dozen  going  to  the  Brook  Kerith,  with  Hazael  for  their 
president.  And  for  what  reason  ?  Joseph  inquired.  I 
have  told  you.  Master,  all  I  know,  and  since  you  be  going 
to  the  Brook  Kerith  the  brethren  themselves  will  give 
reasons  better  than  I  can,  even  if  I  had  heard  what  their 
reasons  be  for  differing  among  themselves.  Whereupon 
Joseph  bade  his  caravan  proceed  onward  to  Jerusalem. 

We  shall  be  surprised  here  by  the  daylight  if  we  delay 
any  longer,  he  said,  returning  to  Jesus,  and,  mounting 
their  asses,  they  rode  down  the  hillside  into  a  long,  shallow 
valley  out  of  which  the  track  rose  upwards  and  upwards 
penetrating  into  the  hills  above  Jericho. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

NOW  it  is  here  we  leave  the  track,  Jesus  said,  and  he  turned 
his  ass  into  a  little  path  leading  down  a  steeply  shelving 
hillside.  We  shall  find  the  brethren  coming  back  from 
the  hills,  if  they  aren't  back  already.  It  is  daylight  on  the 
hills  though  it  is  night  still  in  this  valley;  and  looking  up 
they  saw  a  greenish  moon  in  the  middle  of  a  mottled  sky  of 
pink  and  grey.  Over  the  face  of  the  moon  wisps  of  vapour 
curled  and  went  out :  and  the  asses,  Joseph  said,  are  loath 
to  descend  the  hillside  for  fear  of  this  strange  moon,  or  it 
may  be  they  are  frightened  by  the  babble  of  this  brook ; 
it  seems  to  rise  out  of  the  very  centre  of  the  earth.  How 
deep  is  the  gorge  ?  Very  deep,  Jesus  answered ;  many 
hundred  feet.  But  the  asses  don't  fear  precipices,  and  if 
ours  are  unwilling  to  descend  the  hillside  it  is  because  the 
paths  do  not  seem  likely  to  lead  to  a  stable;  so  would  I 
account  for  their  obstinacy.  I'll  not  ride  down  so  steep  a 
descent,  and  Joseph  slipped  from  his  ass's  back;  and,  rid 
of  his  load,  the  ass  tried  to  escape,  but  Jesus  managed 
to  turn  him  back  to  Joseph,  who  seized  the  bridle.  Dis- 
mount, Jesus,  he  cried,  for  the  path  is  narrow,  and  to  please 
him  Jesus  dismounted,  and,  driving  their  animals  in  front 
of  them,  they  ventured  on  to  a  sort  of  ledge. 

It  passed  under  rocks  and  between  rocks  to  the  very 
brink  of  the  precipice  as  it  descended  towards  the  bridge 
that  spanned  the  brook  some  hundreds  of  feet  lower  down. 
Already  our  asses  scent  a  stable,  Jesus  said ;  he  called  after 
them  to  stop,  and  the  obedient  animals  stopped  and  began 
to  seek  among  the  stones  for  a  tuft  of  grass  or  a  bramble. 

298 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  299 

I  see  no  place  here  for  a  hermitage,  Joseph  said,  only  roosts 
for  choughs  and  crows.  There  have  been  hermits  here 
always,  Jesus  answered.  We  shall  pass  the  ruins  of  ancient 
hermitages  farther  down  on  this  side  above  the  bridge. 
The  bridge  was  built  by  hermits  who  came  from  India, 
Jesus  said.  And  was  destroyed,  Joseph  interjected,  by  the 
Romans,  so  that  they  might  capture  the  robbers  that  in- 
fested the  caves.  But  the  Essenes  must  have  repaired  the 
bridge  lately,  Jesus  replied,  and  he  asked  Joseph  how  long 
the  Essenes  had  been  at  the  Brook  Kerith.  My  camel- 
driver  did  not  say,  Joseph  answered,  and  Jesus  pointed  to 
the  ledge  that  the  Essenes  must  have  chosen  for  a  dwell- 
ing :  it  cannot  be  else,  he  said ;  there  is  no  other  ledge  large 
enough  to  build  upon  in  the  ravine;  and  behind  the  ledge 
thou  seest  up  yonder  is  the  large  cave  whither  the  ravens 
came  to  feed  Elijah.  If  the  brethren  are  anywhere  they  are 
on  that  ledge,  in  that  cave,  and  he  asked  Joseph  if  his  eyes 
could  not  follow  the  building  of  a  balcony :  thine  eyes  can- 
not fail  to  see  it,  for  it  is  plain  to  mine.  Joseph  said  he 
thought  he  could  discern  the  balcony.  But  how  do  we 
reach  it .?  We  aren't  angels,  he  said.  We  shall  ascend, 
Jesus  answered,  by  a  path  going  back  and  forth,  through 
many  terraces.  Lead  on,  Joseph  answered.  But  stay,  let 
us  admire  the  bridge  they  have  built  and  the  pepper-trees 
that  border  it.  I  am  glad  the  Romans  spared  the  trees, 
for  men  that  live  in  this  solitude  deserve  the  beauty  of 
these  pepper-trees.  Jesus  said  :  yonder  is  the  path  lead- 
ing to  the  source  of  the  brook ;  fledged  at  this  season  with 
green  reeds  and  rushes.  They  have  built  a  mill,  I  see ! 
turned  by  the  brook  and  fed,  no  doubt,  by  the  wheat  thy 
camels  bring  from  Moab.  But  the  Essenes  seem  late  at 
work  this  morning. 

As  he  spoke  these  words  an  old  man  appeared  on  the 
balcony,  and  Joseph  said  :  that  must  be  Hazael,  but  his 
beard  has  gone  very  white.     It  is  Hazael,  our  president. 


300  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Jesus  answered.  Let  us  go  to  him  at  once,  and  still  driving 
the  asses  in  front  of  them  and  carrying  the  puppies  in  their 
arms  they  worked  their  way  up  through  the  many  ter- 
races; not  one  is  more  than  three  feet  wide,  yet  in  every 
one  are  fig-trees,  Jesus  remarked,  and  there  seem  to  be 
vines  everywhere,  for  though  the  Essenes  drink  no  wine, 
they  sell  their  grapes  to  be  eaten  or  to  be  turned  into  wine, 
Joseph.  Our  rule  is  not  to  kill,  but  we  sell  our  sheep,  and 
alas  !  some  go  to  the  Temple  and  are  offered  in  sacrifice.  I 
used  to  weep  for  my  sheep,  he  muttered,  but  in  this 
world 

The  steep  ascent  checked  further  speech,  and  they  walked 
to  the  east  and  then  to  the  west,  back  and  forth,  fifty  little 
journeys  taking  them  up  to  the  cenoby.  The  great  door 
was  opened  to  them  at  once,  and  Hazael  came  forward 
to  meet  them,  giving  his  left  hand  to  Joseph,  and  his  right 
to  Jesus,  whom  he  drew  to  his  bosom.  So,  my  dear  Jesus, 
thou  hast  come  back  to  us,  Hazael  said,  and  he  looked  into 
Jesus'  face  inquiringly,  learning  from  it  that  it  would  not 
be  well  to  ask  Jesus  for  the  story  of  what  had  befallen  him 
during  the  last  three  years;  and  Joseph  gave  thanks  that 
Hazael  was  possessed  of  a  mind  that  saw  into  recesses  and 
appreciated  fine  shades. 

We  are  glad  to  have  thee  back  again,  Jesus;  and  thou 
hast  come  to  stay,  and  perhaps  to  take  charge  of  our  flock 
again,  which  needs  thy  guidance.  How  so  ?  Jesus  asked. 
Hasn't  the  flock  prospered  under  Brother  Amos  ?  Ah ! 
that  is  a  long  story,  Hazael  answered.  We'll  tell  it  thee 
when  the  time  comes.  But  thou  hast  brought  dogs  with 
thee,  and  of  the  breed  that  our  shepherds  are  always  seeking. 

It  was  thus  that  Jesus  and  Hazael  began  to  talk  to  each 
other,  leaving  Joseph  to  admire  the  vaulting  of  the  long 
dwelling,  and  to  wander  out  through  the  embrasure  on  to 
the  balcony,  from  whence  he  could  see  the  Essenes  going 
to  their  work  along  the  terraces.     Among  the  ruins  of  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  301 

hermitage  on  the  opposite  side  above  the  bridge,  a  brother 
fondled  a  pet  lamb  while  he  read.  He  is  one,  Joseph  said 
to  himself,  that  has  found  the  society  of  this  cenoby  too 
numerous  for  him,  so  he  retired  to  a  ruin,  hoping  to  draw 
himself  nearer  to  God.  But  even  he  must  have  a  living 
thing  by  him ;  and  then,  his  thoughts  changing,  he  fell  to 
thinking  of  the  day  when  he  would  ride  out  to  meet  Jesus 
among  the  hills.  His  happiness  was  so  intense  in  the  pros- 
pect that  he  delighted  in  all  he  saw  and  heard :  in  the  flight 
of  doves  that  had  just  left  their  cotes  and  were  flying  now 
across  the  gorge,  and  in  the  soothing  chant  of  the  water 
rising  out  of  the  dusk. 

Jesus  had  told  him  that  the  gorge  was  never  without 
water.  The  spring  that  fed  it  rose  out  of  the  earth  as  by 
enchantment.  Hazael's  voice  interrupted  his  reveries : 
would  you  like,  sir,  to  visit  our  house  ?  he  asked,  and  he 
threw  open  the  door  and  showed  a  great  room,  common 
to  all.  On  either  side  of  it,  he  said,  are  cells,  six  on  one 
side,  four  on  the  other,  and  into  these  cells  the  brethren 
retire  after  breaking  bread,  and  it  is  in  this  domed  gallery 
we  sit  at  food.  But  Jesus  has  spoken  to  thee  of  these 
things,  for  though  we  do  not  speak  to  strangers  of  our 
rule  of  life,  Jesus  would  not  have  transgressed  in  speaking 
of  it  to  thee.  Joseph  asked  for  news  of  Banu,  and  was 
sorry  to  hear  that  he  had  been  killed  and  partially  eaten 
by  a  lion. 

The  tidings  seemed  to  affect  Jesus  strangely;  he  cov- 
ered his  face  with  his  hands,  and  Hazael  repented  having 
spoken  of  Banu,  guessing  that  the  hermit's  death  carried 
Jesus'  thoughts  into  a  past  time  that  he  would  shut  out 
for  ever  from  his  mind.  He  atoned,  however,  for  his  mis- 
take by  an  easy  transition  which  carried  their  discourse 
into  an  explanation  of  the  dissidence  that  had  arisen  among 
the  brethren,  and  which,  he  said,  compelled  us  to  come 
hither.     The  Essenes  are  celibates,  and  it  used  to  be  my 


302  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

duty  to  go  in  search  of  young  men  whom  I  might  judge  to 
be  well  disposed  towards  God,  and  to  bring  them  hither 
with  me  so  that  they  might  see  what  our  life  is,  and,  discover- 
ing themselves  to  be  true  servants  of  the  Lord,  adopt  a  life 
as  delightful  and  easy  to  those  who  love  God  truly  as  it  is 
hard  to  them  whose  thoughts  are  set  on  the  world  and  its 
pleasures,  I  have  travelled  through  Palestine  often  in 
search  of  such  young  men,  and  many  who  came  with  me 
are  still  with  me.  It  was  in  Nazareth  that  we  met,  he 
said,  and  he  stretched  his  hand  to  Jesus.  Dost  remember  ? 
And  without  more  he  pursued  his  story. 

The  brother,  however,  who  succeeded  me  as  missionary 
brought  back  only  young  men  who,  after  a  few  months 
trial,  fell  away.  It  would  be  unjust  for  me  to  say  that 
the  fault  was  with  the  missionary :  times  are  not  as  they 
used  to  be ;  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  not  so  rife  nor  so  ardent 
now  as  it  was  once,  and  the  dwindling  of  our  order  was 
the  reason  given  for  the  proposal  that  some  of  us  should 
take  wives.  The  argument  put  forward  was  that  the 
children  born  of  these  marriages  would  be  more  likely  than 
other  children  to  understand  our  oaths  of  renunciation 
of  the  world  and  its  illusions.  It  was  pleaded,  and  I  doubt 
not  in  good  faith,  that  it  were  better  the  Essenes  should 
exist  under  a  modified  and  more  worldly  rule  than  not 
exist  at  all ;  and  while  unable  to  accept  this  view  we  have 
never  ceased  to  admire  the  great  sacrifice  that  our  erst- 
while brethren  have  made  for  the  sake  of  our  order.  That 
the  large  majority  was  moved  by  such  an  exalted  motive 
cannot  be  doubted ;  but  temptations  are  always  about ; 
everyone  is  the  Adam  of  his  own  soul,  and  there  may  have 
been  a  few  that  desired  the  change  for  less  worthy  motives. 
There  was  a  brother 

At  that  moment  an  accidental  tread  sent  one  of  the 
puppies  howling  down  the  dwelling,  and  Hazael,  fearing 
that  he  might  fall  into  the  well  and  drown  there,  sent  Jesus 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  303 

to  call  him  back.  The  puppy,  however,  managed  to  escape 
the  well  in  time,  and  the  pain  in  his  tail  ceasing  suddenly 
he  ran,  followed  by  his  brother,  out  of  the  cenoby  on  to 
the  rocks.  I  must  go  after  them,  for  they  will  roll  down 
the  rocks  if  left  to  themselves,  Jesus  cried.  A  matter  of 
little  moment,  Hazael  replied,  compared  with  the  greater 
calamity  of  drowning  himself  in  the  well,  for  it  is  of  extraor- 
dinary depth  and  represents  the  labour  of  years.  Won- 
derful are  the  works  of  man,  he  added.  But  greater  are 
the  works  of  God,  Joseph  replied.  You  did  well  to  correct 
me,  Hazael  answered,  for  one  never  should  forget  that 
God  is  over  all  things,  and  the  only  real  significance  man 
has,  is  his  knowledge  of  God.  But  we  were  speaking  of  the 
exodus  of  a  few  monks  from  the  great  cenoby  on  the  eastern 
side  of  Jordan. 

We  came  hither  for  the  reason  that  I  have  told.  We 
left  protesting  that  even  if  it  were  as  our  brethren  said, 
and  that  the  children  of  Essenes  would  be  more  likely 
than  the  children  of  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  to  choose  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  spirit  rather  than  to  wear 
their  lives  away  in  pursuit  of  vain  conformity  to  the  Law  — 
even  if  this  were  so,  we  said,  man  can  only  love  God  on 
condition  that  he  put  women  aside,  for  woman  represents 
the  five  senses  :  pleasure  of  the  eyes,  of  the  ears,  of  the 
mouth,  of  the  finger-tips,  of  the  nostrils  :  we  did  not  fail 
to  point  out  that  though  our  brethren  might  go  in  and 
unto  them  for  worthy  motives,  yet  in  so  doing  they  would 
experience  pleasure,  and  sexual  pleasure  leads  to  the  pleas- 
ure of  wine  and  food.  One  of  the  brethren  said  this  might 
not  be  so  if  elderly  women  were  chosen,  and  at  first  it  seemed 
as  if  a  compromise  were  possible.  But  a  moment  after, 
a  brother  reminded  us  that  elderly  women  were  not  fruit- 
ful. To  which  I  added  myself  another  argument,  that 
a  different  diet  from  ours  is  necessary  to  those  who  take 
wives  unto  themselves.     Thou  understandest  me,  Joseph  ? 


304  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

Women  have  never  been  a  temptation  to  me,  Joseph  an- 
swered, nor  to  Jesus,  and  in  meditative  mood  he  related 
the  story  of  the  wild  man  in  the  woods,  at  the  entrance  of 
whose  cave  Jesus  had  laid  a  knife  so  that  he  might  cut 
himself  free  of  temptation. 

At  this  Hazael  was  much  moved,  and  they  talked  of 
Jesus,  Joseph  saying  that  he  had  suffered  cruelly  for  teach- 
ing that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  in  our  own  hearts ;  for 
to  teach  that  religion  is  no  more  than  a  personal  aspiration 
is  to  attack  the  law,  which,  though  given  to  us  by  Moses, 
existed  beforetimes  in  heaven,  always  observed  by  the 
angels,  and  to  be  observed  by  them  for  time  everlasting. 
Jesus,  then,  set  himself  against  the  Temple  ?  Hazael  said 
slowly,  looking  into  Joseph's  eyes.  In  a  measure,  Joseph 
answered,  but  it  was  the  priests  who  exasperated  the  peo- 
ple against  him,  and  what  I  have  come  here  for,  beyond 
his  companionship  on  the  journey,  is  to  beg  of  you  to  put 
no  questions  to  him.  A  day  may  come  when  he  will  tell 
his  story  if  he  remain  with  thee.  Here  he  is  safe,  Hazael 
said,  and  I  pray  God  that  he  may  remain  with  us.  But 
where  is  Jesus  ?  Hazael  asked,  and  they  sought  him  in 
the  terraces,  where  the  monks  were  at  work  among  the 
vines.  See  our  fig-trees  already  in  leaf.  Without  our  figs 
we  should  hardly  be  able  to  live  here,  and  it  is  thy  trans- 
port that  enables  us  to  sell  our  grapes  and  our  figs  and  the 
wine  that  we  make,  for  we  make  wine,  though  there  are 
some  who  think  it  would  be  better  if  we  made  none. 

It  was  thou  that  urged  Pilate  to  free  these  hills  from 
robbers,  and  hadst  thou  not  done  so  we  shouldn't  have  been 
able  to  live  here.  But  I'm  thinking  of  so  many  things 
that  I  have  lost  thought  of  him  whom  we  seek.  He  can- 
not have  passed  this  way,  unless,  indeed,  he  descended 
the  terrace  towards  the  bridge,  and  he  could  hardly  have 
done  that.  He  has  gone  up  the  hills,  and  they  will  help 
to  put  the  past  out  of  his  mind.     And,  talking  of  Jesus' 


THE   BRCX)K  KERITH  305 

early  life  in  the  cenoby,  and  of  his  knowledge  of  flocks 
and  suchlike,  Hazael  led  Joseph  through  the  long  house 
and  up  some  steps  on  to  a  rubble  path.  The  mountain 
seems  to  be  crumbling,  Joseph  said,  and  looked  askance 
at  the  quiet  room  built  on  the  very  verge  of  the  abyss. 
Where  thou'lt  sleep  when  thou  honourest  us  with  a  visit, 
Hazael  said,  which  will  be  soon,  we  trust,  he  continued ; 
for  we  owe  a  great  deal  to  thee,  as  I  have  already  explained, 
and  now  thou  com'st  with  a  last  gift  —  our  shepherd. 

On  these  words  they  passed  under  an  overhanging  rock 
which  Joseph  said  would  fall  one  day.  One  day,  replied 
the  Essene,  all  the  world  will  fall,  and  I  wish  we  were  as 
safe  from  men  as  we  are  from  this  rock.  Part  of  the  bridge 
over  the  brook  is  of  wood  and  it  can  be  raised.  But  the 
ledge  on  which  we  live  can  be  reached  from  the  hills  by 
this  path,  and  it  would  be  possible  to  raid  us  from  this  side. 
Thou  seest  here  a  wall,  a  poor  one,  it  is  true ;  but  next  year 
we  hope  to  build  a  much  stronger  wall,  some  twenty  feet 
high  and  several  feet  in  thickness,  and  then  we  shall  be 
secure  against  the  robbers  if  they  should  return  to  their 
caves.  We  have  little  or  nothing  to  steal,  but  wicked  men 
take  pleasure  in  despoiling  even  when  there  is  nothing  to 
gain :  our  content  would  fill  them  with  displeasure,  he  said, 
as  he  sought  the  key. 

But  on  trying  the  door  it  was  found  to  be  unlocked,  and 
Joseph  said  :  it  will  be  no  use  building  a  wall  twenty  feet 
high  to  secure  yourself  from  robbers  if  you  leave  the  door 
unlocked.  It  was  Jesus  that  left  the  door  unlocked,  Hazael 
answered,  he  must  have  passed  this  way,  we  shall  find 
him  on  the  hillside;  and  Joseph  stood  amazed  at  the  up- 
rpUing  hills  and  their  quick  descents  into  stony  valleys. 
Beyond  that  barren  hill  there  is  some  pasturage,  Hazael 
said ;  and  in  search  of  Jesus  they  climbed  summit  after 
summit,  hoping  always  to  catch  sight  of  him  playing  with 
his  dogs  in  the  shadow  of  some  rocks,  but  he  was  nowhere 

X 


3o6  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

to  be  seen,  and  Hazael  could  not  think  else  than  that  he 
had  fallen  in  with  Amos  and  yielded  to  the  beguilement 
of  the  hills,  for  he  has  known  them,  Hazael  continued, 
since  I  brought  him  here  from  Nazareth,  a  lad  of  fifteen 
or  sixteen  years,  not  more.  We  shall  do  better  to  return 
and  wait  for  him.  He  will  remember  us  presently.  To 
which  Joseph  answered,  that  since  he  was  so  near  Jericho 
he  would  like  to  go  thither ;  a  great  pile  of  business  awaited 
his  attention  there,  and  he  begged  Hazael  to  tell  Jesus 
that  he  would  return  to  bid  him  good-bye  on  his  way 
back  to  Jerusalem  that  evening,  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

IT  was  as  Hazael  had  guessed  :  the  puppies  had  scampered 
up  the  loose  pathway  leading  to  the  hills ;  Jesus  had  let 
them  through  the  door,  and  had  followed  them  up  the 
hills,  saying  to  himself:    they  have  got  the  scent  of  sheep. 

The  stubborn,  unruly  ground  lay  before  him  just  as  he 
remembered  it,  falling  into  hollows  but  rising  upwards 
always,  with  still  a  little  grass  between  the  stones,  but 
not  enough  to  feed  a  flock,  he  remarked,  as  he  wandered 
on,  watching  the  sunrise  unfolding,  and  thinking  that 
Amos  should  be  down  by  the  Jordan,  and  would  be  there, 
he  said  to  himself,  no  doubt,  were  it  not  for  the  wild  beasts 
that  have  their  lairs  in  the  thickets.  Whosoever  redeems 
the  shepherd  from  the  danger  of  lions,  he  added,  as  he 
climbed  up  the  last  ascents,  will  be  the  great  benefactor. 
But  the  wolves  perhaps  kill  more  sheep  than  lions,  being 
more  numerous.  It  was  at  this  moment  that  Brother 
Amos  came  into  sight,  and  he  walked  so  deep  in  meditation 
that  he  might  have  passed  Jesus  without  seeing  him  if  Jesus 
had  not  called   aloud. 

Why,  Jesus,  it  is  thou,  as  I'm  alive,  come  back  to  us  at 
last.  Well,  we've  been  expecting  thee  this  long  while. 
And  thou  hast  not  come  back  too  soon,  as  my  poor  flock 
testifies.  I'm  ashamed  of  them  ;  but  thou'lt  not  speak  too 
harshly  of  my  flock  to  Hazael,  who  thinks  if  he  complains 
enough  he'll  work  me  up  into  a  good  shepherd  despite  my 
natural  turn  for  an  indoor  life.  But  I'd  not  have  thee 
think  that  the  flock  perished  through  my  fault,  and  see 
in   them   a   lazy   shepherd    lying   always   at   length   on   the 

307 


3o8  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

hillside.  I  walk  with  them  in  search  of  pasture  from  day- 
light till  dark,  wearing  my  feet  away,  but  to  no  purpose, 
as  any  man  can  see  though  he  never  laid  eyes  on  a  sheep 
before.  But  it  was  thou.  Brother,  that  recommended  me 
for  a  shepherd,  and  I  can  think  of  naught  but  my  love  of 
wandering  with  thee  on  the  hills,  and  listening  to  thee  prat- 
ing of  rams  and  ewes,  that  put  it  into  my  head  that  I  was 
a  shepherd  by  nature  and  thy  successor. 

Thou  wast  brought  up  to  the  flock  from  thy  boyhood, 
and  a  ram*s  head  has  more  interest  for  thee  than  a  verse 
of  Scripture ;  thy  steady,  easy  gait  was  always  the  finest 
known  on  these  hills  for  leading  a  flock;  but  my  feet  pain 
me  after  a  dozen  miles,  and  a  shepherd  with  corny  feet  is 
like  a  bird  with  a  torn  wing.  Thou  understandest  the 
hardship  of  a  shepherd,  and  that  one  isn't  a  shepherd  for 
willing  it;  and  I  rely  on  thee,  Brother,  to  take  my  part 
and  to  speak  up  for  me  when  Hazael  puts  questions  to 
thee.  So  thou  wouldst  be  freed  from  the  care  of  the  flock  ? 
Jesus  said.  My  only  wish,  he  answered.  But  thou'lt 
make  it  clear  to  Hazael  that  it  was  for  lack  of  a  good  ram 
the  flock  fell  away.  I  gave  thee  over  a  young  ram  with 
the  flock,  one  of  the  finest  on  these  hills,  Jesus  said.  Thou 
didst;  and  he  seemed  like  coming  into  such  a  fine  beast, 
Amos  answered,  that  we  hadn't  the  heart  to  turn  him  among 
the  ewes  the  first  year  but  bred  from  the  old  fellow.  An 
old  ram  is  a  waste,  Jesus  replied,  and  h*e  would  have  said 
more  if  Amos  had  not  begun  to  relate  the  death  of  the  fine 
young  beast  that  Jesus  had  bred  for  the  continuance  of  the 
flock.  We  owe  the  loss  of  him,  he  said,  to  a  ewe  that  no 
shepherd  would  look  twice  at,  one  of  the  ugliest  in  the  flock, 
she  seemed  to  me  to  be  and  to  everybody  that  laid  his  eyes 
on  her,  and  she  ought  to  have  been  put  out  of  the  flock,  but 
though  uninviting  to  our  eyes  she  was  longed  for  by  another 
ram,  and  so  ardently  that  he  could  not  abide  his  own  ewes 
and  became  as  a  wild  sheep  on  the  hills,  always  on  the 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  309 

prowl  about  my  flock,  seeking  his  favourite,  and  she  casting 
her  head  back  at  him  nothing  loath. 

It  would  have  been  better  if  I  had  turned  the  evil  ewe 
out  of  the  flock,  making  him  a  present  of  her,  but  I  kept 
on  foiling  him ;  and  my  own  ram,  taking  rage  against  this 
wild  one,  challenged  him,  and  one  day,  seeing  me  asleep 
on  the  hillside,  the  wild  ram  came  down  and  with  a  great 
bleat  summoned  mine  to  battle.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
heaven  was  raining  thunderbolts,  so  loud  was  the  noise 
of  their  charging;  and  looking  out  of  my  dreams  I  saw  the 
two  rams  backing  away  from  each  other,  making  ready  for 
another  onset.  My  ram's  skull  was  the  softer,  he  being  a 
youngling,  it  had  been  already  shaken  in  several  charges, 
and  it  was  broken  in  this  last  one,  a  terrible  one  it  was,  I 
can  still  hear  them,  they  are  still  at  it  in  my  mind  —  the 
ewes  of  both  flocks  gathered  on  diff^erent  sides,  spectators. 

But  where  were  thy  dogs  all  this  while  ?  Jesus  inquired. 
My  dogs !  If  I'd  had  a  Thracian  he  never  would  have 
sufi^ered  that  the  sheep  killed  each  other.  A  Thracian 
would  have  awakened  me.  My  dogs  are  of  the  soft  Syrian 
breed  given  to  growling  and  no  more.  The  wild  ram  might 
have  become  tame  again,  and  would  doubtless  have  stayed 
with  me  as  long  as  I  had  the  ewe ;  but  he  might  have  re- 
fused to  serve  any  but  she.  No  man  can  say  how  it  would 
have  ended  if  I  had  not  killed  him  in  my  anger.  So  thou 
wast  left,  Jesus  remarked,  without  a  serviceable  ram.  With 
naught,  Amos  sighed,  but  the  old  one,  and  he  was  that 
weary  of  jumping  that  he  began  to  think  more  of  his  fodder 
than  ewes.  Without  money  one  can't  get  a  well-bred  ram, 
as  I  often  said  to  Hazael,  but  he  answered  me  always  that 
he  had  no  money  to  give  me,  and  that  I  must  do  as  well  as 
I  could  with  the  ram  I  had.  .  .  .  He  is  gone  now,  but 
before  he  died  he  ruined  my  flock. 

It  is  true  that  the  shepherd's  labour  is  wasted  without  a 
good  ram,  Jesus  repeated.     Thou  speakest  but  the  truth, 


310  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Amos  replied ;  and  knowing  the  truth,  forget  not  to  speak 
well  of  me  to  Hazael,  as  a  shepherd,  finding  reason  that 
will  satisfy  him  for  the  dwindling  of  the  flock  that  hence- 
forth will  be  in  thy  charge.  Jesus  said  that  he  was  will- 
ing to  resume  his  charge,  but  did  not  know  if  Hazael  and 
the  brethren  would  receive  him  back  into  the  order  after 
his  long  absence,  Amos  seemed  to  think  that  of  that  there 
could  be  no  doubt.  All  will  be  glad  to  have  thee  back  .  .  . 
thou*rt  too  useful  for  them  to  slight  thee,  he  cried  back, 
and  Jesus  returned  to  the  cenoby  dreaming  of  some  grand 
strain  that  would  restore  the  supremacy  of  the  flock. 

As  he  passed  down  the  gallery  Hazael,  who  was  sitting 
on  the  balcony,  cried  to  him ;  Joseph,  he  said,  waited  an 
hour  and  has  gone;  he  had  business  to  transact  in  Jericho. 
But,  Jesus,  what  ails  thee .?  It  seems  strange,  Jesus  an- 
swered, he  should  have  gone  away  like  this.  But  have 
I  not  told  thee,  Jesus,  that  he  will  return  this  evening  to 
wish  thee  good-bye.  But  he  may  not  be  able  to  return 
this  evening,  Jesus  replied.  That  is  so,  Hazael  rejoined. 
He  said  that  he  might  have  to  return  to  Jerusalem  at  once, 
but  he  will  not  fail  to  ride  out  to  meet  thee  in  a  few  days. 
But  he  will  not  find  me  on  the  hills,  no  tryst  has  been  made, 
Jesus  said,  as  he  turned  away;  and  guessing  his  intention 
to  be  to  leave  at  once  for  Jericho,  Hazael  spoke  of  Joseph's 
business  in  Jericho,  and  how  displeased  he  might  be  to  meet 
Jesus  in  the  middle  of  his  business  and  amongst  strangers. 
The  Essenes  are  not  well  looked  upon  in  Jerusalem,  he  said. 
We  do  not  send  fat  rams  to  the  Temple.  Fat  rams,  Jesus 
repeated.  Amos  has  been  telling  me  that  what  lacks  is  a 
ram,  and  the  community  had  not  enough  money  to  buy 
one.  That  is  true,  Hazael  said.  Rams  are  hard  to  get  even 
for  a  great  deal  of  money.  Joseph  might  lend  us  the  money, 
he  is  rich.  He  will  do  that,  Jesus  answered,  and  be  glad 
to  do  it.  But  a  ram  must  be  found,  and  if  thou'lt  give  me 
all  the  money  thou  hast  I  will  go  in  search  of  one.     Joseph 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  311 

will  remit  to  thee  the  money  I  have  taken  from  thee  when 
he  returns.  It  will  be  a  surprise  for  him  to  find  in  the  flock 
a  great  fine  ram  of  the  breed  that  I  remember  to  have  seen 
on  the  western  hills.  I'll  start  at  daybreak.  Thou  shalt 
have  our  shekels,  Hazael  said ;  they  are  few,  but  the  Lord 
be  with  thee  and  His  luck. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

HIS  was  the  long,  steady  gait  of  the  shepherd,  and  he  had 
not  proceeded  far  into  the  hills  before  he  was  looking  round 
for  his  mates,  one  after  the  other;  they  were  his  friends, 
and  his  sheep's  friends,  having  given  them  pasturage  for 
many  a  year;  and  the  oak  wood's  shade  had  been  friendly 
beforetimes  to  himself  and  his  sheep.  And  he  was  going  to 
rest  in  its  shade  once  more.  At  noon  he  would  be  there, 
glad  of  some  water;  for  though  the  day  was  still  young  the 
sun  was  warm,  the  sky  told  him  that  before  noon  his  tongue 
would  be  cleaving  to  the  sides  of  his  mouth  ;  a  fair  prediction 
this  was,  for  long  before  the  oak  wood  came  into  sight  he  had 
begun  to  think  of  the  well  at  the  end  of  the  wood,  and  the 
quality  of  the  water  he  would  find  in  it,  remembering  that  it 
used  to  hold  good  water,  but  the  shepherds  often  forgot  to 
replace  the  stopper  and  the  water  got  fouled. 

As  he  walked  his  comrades  of  old  time  kept  rising  up  in 
his  memory  one  by  one ;  their  faces,  even  their  hands  and 
feet,  and  the  stories  they  told  of  their  dogs,  their  fights  with 
the  wild  beasts,  and  the  losses  they  suffered  from  wolves  and 
lions  in  the  jungles  along  the  Jordan.  In  old  times  these 
topics  were  the  substance  of  his  life,  and  he  wished  to  hear 
the  shepherds'  rough  voices  again,  to  look  into  their  eyes,  to 
talk  sheep  with  them,  to  plunge  his  hands  once  more  into  the 
greasy  fleeces,  yes,  and  to  vent  his  knowledge,  so  that  if  he 
should  happen  to  come  upon  new  men  they  would  see  that 
he,  Jesus,  had  been  at  the  job  before. 

Now  the  day  seems  like  keeping  up,  he  said ;  but  there 
was  a  certain  fear  in  his  heart  that  the  valleys  would  be 
close  and  hot  in  the  afternoon  and  the  hill-tops  uninviting. 

312 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  313 

But  his  humour  was  not  for  fault-finding;  and  with  the  ram 
in  view  always  —  not  a  long-legged  brute  with  a  face  like  a 
ewe  upon  him,  but  a  broad,  compact  animal  with  a  fine 
woolly  head  —  he  stepped  out  gaily,  climbing  hill  after  hill, 
enjoying  his  walk  and  interested  in  his  remembrance  of 
certain  rams  he  had  once  seen  near  Caesarea,  and  in  his  hope 
of  possessing  himself  of  one  of  these.  With  money  enough 
upon  me  to  buy  one,  he  kept  saying  to  himself,  I  shouldn't 
come  back  empty  handed.  But,  O  Lord,  the  day  is  hot,  he 
cried  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  hour.  But  yonder  is  the  oak 
wood ;  and  he  stopped  to  think  out  the  whereabouts  of  the 
well.  A  moment  after  he  caught  sight  of  a  shepherd  :  who 
is,  no  doubt,  by  the  well,  he  said.  He  is,  and  trying  to  lift 
out  the  stopper;  and  the  shepherd,  catching  sight  of  Jesus, 
called  him  to  come  to  his  help,  saying  that  it  would  need  their 
united  strength  to  get  it  out.  We're  moving  it,  the  shepherd 
cried  after  a  bit.  We  are,  Jesus  replied.  How  is  the  water  ? 
Fair  enough  if  thy  thirst  be  fierce,  the  shepherd  replied. 
There  is  better  about  a  mile  from  here,  but  I  see  thou'rt 
thirsty. 

As  soon  as  the  men  had  quenched  their  thirst,  the  sheep 
came  forward,  each  waiting  his  turn,  as  is  their  wont ;  and 
when  the  flock  was  watered  it  sought  the  shade  of  a  great  oak, 
and  the  twain,  sitting  under  the  burgeoning  branches,  began 
to  talk.  It  was  agreed  between  them  that  it  would  not  do  to 
advise  anybody  to  choose  shepherding  as  a  trade  at  pres- 
ent, for  things  seemed  to  be  going  more  than  ever  against 
the  shepherd ;  the  wild  animals  in  the  thickets  along  the 
Jordan  had  increased,  and  the  robbers,  though  many  had 
been  crucified,  were  becoming  numerous  again;  these  did 
not  hesitate  to  take  a  ewe  or  wether  away  with  them, 
paying  little  for  it,  or  not  paying  at  all.  But  art  thou  a 
shepherd  ?  Jesus  answered  that  he  had  been  a  shepherd  — 
an  erstwhile  Essene,  he  said ;  one  that  has  returned  to  the 
brethren.     The  Essenes  are  good  to  the  poor,  the  shepherd 


314  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

said,  and  glad  to  hear  he  was  talking  to  a  mate,  he  continued 
his  complaint,  to  which  Jesus  gave  heed,  knowing  well  that 
it  would  not  be  long  before  they  would  be  speaking  of  the 
breed  of  sheep  best  suited  to  the  hills ;  the  which  came  to 
pass,  for,  like  Jesus,  he  lacked  a  good  ;"am,  and  for  the  want 
of  one,  he  said,  his  flock  had  declined.  The  better  the 
breed,  he  continued,  the  more  often  it  required  renewing, 
and  his  master  would  not  pay  money  for  new  blood,  so  he 
was  thinking  of  leaving  him ;  and  to  justify  his  intention 
he  pointed  out  the  ram  to  Jesus  that  was  to  serve  the  flock 
that  autumn,  asking  him  how  a  shepherd  could  earn  with  such 
a  one  the  few  lambs  that  he  receives  in  payment  if  the  flock 
increase  under  his  care.  He's  four  years  old  if  he's  a  day, 
Jesus  muttered.  He  is  that,  the  shepherd  answered;  yet 
master  told  me  yesterday  he  must  serve  another  season,  for 
he  won't  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  rams  being  so  dear; 
but  nothing,  say  I,  is  dearer  than  an  old  ram.  I'm  with  thee 
in  that,  Jesus  answered ;  and  my  plight  is  the  same  as  thine. 
I'm  searching  for  a  ram,  and  have  a  friend  who  would  pay  a 
great  sum  of  money  for  one  if  one  of  the  style  I  am  looking 
for  can  be  found. 

Well,  luck  will  be  with  thee,  but  I  know  no  ram  on  these 
hills  that  I'd  pay  money  for,  the  shepherd  answered,  none  we 
see  is  better  than  yon  beast,  and  he  is  what  thou  seest  him  to 
be,  a  long-backed,  long-legged,  ugly  ram  that  would  be  pretty 
tough  under  the  tooth,  and  whose  fleece  a  shepherd  would 
find  thin  in  winter-time. 

But  there  were  once  fine  sheep  on  these  hills,  Jesus  an- 
swered, and  I  remember  a  ram Ay,  mate,  thou  mayest 

well  remember  one,  and  I  think  I  know  the  shepherd  that 
thou'rt  thinking  of,  but  he  that  owns  the  breed  will  not 
sell  a  ram  for  the  great  sums  of  money  that  have  been  offered 
to  him,  for  his  pride  is  to  keep  the  breed  to  himself.  We've 
tried  to  buy,  and  been  watching  this  long  while  for  a  lucky 
chance  to  drive  one  away,  for  a  man  that  has  more  than  he 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  315 

needs  and  will  not  sell  ought  thereof  calls  the  thief  down  into 
his  house,  as  it  were,  creating  the  thief  out  of  an  honest  man, 
for  which  he  deserves  to  be  punished.  But  the  rich  are 
never  punished  and  this  man's  shepherds  are  wary,  and  his 
dogs  are  fierce,  and  none  has  succeeded  yet  in  getting  a  sample 
of  the  breed. 

But  where  may  this  man  be  found  ?  Jesus  asked,  and 
the  shepherd  mentioned  a  village  high  up  on  the  mountains 
over  against  the  sea.  But  go  not  thither,  for  twenty  miles  is 
a  long  walk  if  the  end  of  it  be  but  jeers  and  a  scoffing.  A 
scoffing !  Jesus  returned.  Ay,  and  a  fine  one  in  thine  ears ; 
and  a  fine  thirst  upon  thee,  the  shepherd  continued,  and 
turning  to  the  oak-tree  he  began  to  cut  branches  to  feed 
his  goats.  Twenty  miles  uphill  in  front  of  me,  Jesus  medi- 
tated, with  jeers  and  scoffings  at  the  end  of  the  journey,  of 
which  I  have  had  plenty ;  and  he  began  to  walk  quickly  and 
to  look  round  the  hills  in  search  of  pasture  for  a  flock,  for 
these  hills  were  but  faintly  known  to  him.  It  isn't  reasonable 
that  a  man  will  not  part  with  a  ram  for  a  great  sum  of  money, 
he  said,  and  though  he  may  not  sell  the  lamb  to  his  neigh- 
bours, whom  he  knows  for  rascals,  he  may  sell  to  the  Essenes, 
whose  report  is  good.  And  he  continued  his  way,  stopping 
very  often  to  think  how  he  might  find  a  bypath  that  would 
save  him  a  climb ;  for  the  foot-hills  running  down  from  west 
to  east,  off  the  main  range,  formed  a  sort  of  gigantic  ridge 
and  furrow  broken  here  and  there,  and  whenever  he  met  a 
shepherd  he  asked  him  to  put  him  in  the  way  of  a  bypath ; 
and  with  a  word  of  counsel  from  a  shepherd  and  some  re- 
membrance he  discovered  many  passes;  but  despite  these 
easy  ways  the  journey  began  to  seem  very  long,  so  long  that 
it  often  seemed  as  if  he  would  never  arrive  at  the  village  he 
was  seeking.  He  told  me  I'd  find  it  on  the  last  ridge  looking 
seaward.  He  said  I  couldn't  miss  it;  and  shading  his  eyes 
with  his  hand,  Jesus  caught  sight  of  some  roofs  that  he  had 
hot  seen  before.     Maybe  the  roofs,  he  said,  of  the  village  in 


3i6  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

which  I  shall  find  my  ram,  and  maybe  he  who  will  sell  me 
the  ram  sits  under  that  sycamore.  If  such  be  my  fortune  he 
will  rise  to  meet  me,  Jesus  continued,  and  he  strove  against 
the  faintness  coming  over  him.  Is  there  a  fountain  ?  he 
asked.  By  that  arch  the  fountain  flows,  drink  thy  fill, 
wayfarer.  His  sight  being  darkened  he  could  not  see  the 
arch  but  stumbled  against  it  and  stood  there,  his  face  white 
and  drawn,  his  hand  to  his  side,  till,  unable  to  bear  up  any 
longer,  he  fell. 

Somebody  came  to  him  with  water,  and  after  drinking  a 
little  he  revived,  and  said  he  could  walk  alone,  but  as  soon 
as  they  loosed  him  he  fell  again,  and  when  lifted  from  the 
ground  a  second  time  he  asked  for  the  inn,  saying  he  had  come 
a  long  way.  Whereupon  a  man  said,  thou  shalt  rest  in  my 
house ;  I  guess  thee  to  be  a  shepherd,  though  thy  garb  isn't 
altogether  a  shepherd's.  But  my  house  is  open  to  him  who 
needs  food  and  shelter.     Lean  on  my  arm. 

Let  me  untie  thy  sandals,  were  the  next  words  Jesus 
heard,  and  when  his  feet  were  bathed  and  he  had  partaken 
of  food  and  drink  and  was  rested,  the  villager,  whom  Jesus 
guessed  to  be  a  shepherd,  began  to  ask  him  about  the  length 
of  the  journey  from  Jericho  to  Caesarea :  we're  three  hours 
from  Caesarea,  he  said ;  thou  must  have  been  walking  many 
hours.  Many  hours  indeed,  Jesus  answered.  I've  come 
from  the  Brook  Kerith,  which  is  five  miles  from  Jericho. 
From  the  Brook  Kerith  ?  the  villager  repeated.  A  shepherd 
I  guessed  thee  to  be.  And  a  fair  guess,  Jesus  answered.  A 
shepherd  I  am  and  in  search  of  a  ram  of  good  breeding,  sent 
on  hither  by  a  shepherd.  He  did  but  make  sport  of  thee, 
the  villager  answered,  for  it  is  I  that  own  the  breed  that  all 
men  would  have.  So  a  shepherd  sent  thee  hither  to  buy  a 
ram  from  me.  No,  Jesus  replied,  he  said  thou  wouldst  not 
sell.  Then  he  was  an  honester  shepherd  than  I  thought  for : 
he  would  have  saved  thee  a  vain  journey,  and  it  would  have 
been  well  hadst  thou  listened  to  his  counsel,  for  I  will  not  part 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  317 

with  the  breed ;  and  my  hope  is  that  my  son  will  not  be 
tempted  to  part  with  the  breed,  for  it  is  through  our  sheep 
that  we  have  made  our  riches,  such  small  riches  as  we  possess, 
he  added,  lest  he  should  appear  too  rich  in  the  eyes  of  a 
stranger.  If  thou'lt  not  sell  I  must  continue  my  journey 
farther,  Jesus  answered.  In  quest  of  a  ram  ?  the  shepherd 
said.  But  thou'lt  not  find  any  but  long-backed  brutes 
tucked  up  in  the  belly  that  ofFend  the  eye  and  are  worse  by 
far  than  a  hole  in  the  pocket.  With  such  rams  the  hills 
abound.  But  get  thee  the  best,  though  the  best  may  be  bad, 
for  every  man  must  work  according  to  his  tools. 

If  thou  asked  me  for  anything  but  my  breed  of  sheep  I 
would  have  given  it,  for  thy  face  and  thy  speech  please 
me,  but  as  well  ask  me  for  my  wife  or  my  daughter  as  for  my 
rams.  Be  it  so,  Jesus  answered,  and  he  rose  to  continue 
his  way,  but  his  host  said  that  having  taken  meat  and  drink 
in  his  house  he  must  sleep  in  it  too,  and  Jesus,  being  tired, 
accepted  the  bed  offered  to  him.  He  could  not  have  fared 
farther;  there  was  no  inn  nor  public  guest-room,  and  in 
the  morning  his  host  might  be  in  the  humour  to  part  with  a 
ram  for  a  great  sum  of  money.  But  the  morning  found  his 
host  in  the  same  humour  regarding  his  breed  of  sheep  —  de- 
termined to  keep  it ;  but  in  all  other  things  willing  to  serve  his 
guest.  Jesus  bade  him  good-bye,  sorry  he  could  not  persuade 
him,  but  liking  him  all  the  same. 

In  two  hours  he  was  near  the  cultivated  lands  of  Caesarea, 
and  it  seemed  to  him  that  his  best  chance  of  getting  news 
of  a  ram  would  be  to  turn  westward,  and  finding  bed  and 
board  in  every  village,  he  travelled  far  and  wide  in  search  of 
the  fine  rams  that  he  had  once  caught  sight  of  in  those  parts. 
But  the  rams  of  yore  seemed  to  have  disappeared  altogether 
from  the  country  :  thou  mayest  journey  to  Caesarea  and  back 
again,  but  thou'lt  not  find  anything  better  than  that  I  ofFer 
thee,  one  man  said  to  Jesus,  whereupon  Jesus  turned  his  back 
upon  Caesarea  and  began  the  return  journey  sad  and  humble, 


3i8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

but  with  hope  still  a-flutter  in  his  heart,  for  he  continued  to 
inquire  after  rams  all  the  way  till  he  came  one  bright  morning 
to  the  village  in  which  lived  the  owner  of  the  great  breed  of 
sheep  that  he  coveted,  honourably  coveted,  he  muttered 
to  himself,  but  coveted  heartily. 

The  sun  was  well  up  at  the  time,  and  Jesus  had  come  by 
the  road  leading  up  from  the  coast.  He  had  passed  over  the 
first  ridge,  and  had  begun  to  think  that  he  must  be  near  the 
village  in  which  the  man  lived  who  owned  the  great  breed 
of  sheep,  when  his  thoughts  were  interrupted  by  a  lamb 
bleating  piteously,  and,  looking  round,  he  saw  one  running 
hither  and  thither,  seeking  his  dam.  Now  the  lamb  seeming 
to  him  a  fine  one,  he  was  moved  to  turn  back  to  the  village  to 
tell  the  man  he  had  lodged  with  that  a  lamb  of  his  breed  had 
lost  the  ewe.  Thou  sayest  well,  the  man  answered,  and  that 
lamb  will  seek  vainly,  for  the  ewe  hurt  her  hoof,  and  we  kept 
her  in  the  house  so  that  she  might  be  safer  than  with  my 
shepherd  out  on  the  hills,  and  the  luck  we  have  had  is  that  a 
panther  broke  into  our  garden  last  night.  We  thought  he 
had  killed  the  lamb  as  well,  but  he  only  took  the  ewe,  and 
the  lamb  thou  bringest  me  tidings  of  will  be  dead  before 
evening.  My  thanks  to  thee,  shepherd,  for  thy  pains.  But, 
said  Jesus,  thou'lt  sell  me  the  lamb  that  runs  bleating  after 
the  ewe,  on  the  chance  that  I  shall  rear  him  ?  Whereat  the 
villager  smiled  and  said :  it  seems  hard  to  take  thy  money 
for  naught,  for  thou  hast  a  pleasant  face;  but  who  knows 
what  luck  may  be  with  thee.  For  a  shekel  thou  shalt  have 
the  lamb.  Jesus  paid  the  shekel,  and  his  eyes  falling  upon  a 
bush  in  whose  stems  he  knew  he  should  find  plenty  of  sap, 
he  cut  some  six  or  seven  inches  ofF,  and,  having  forced  out 
the  sap,  showed  it  to  the  villager,  and  asked  him  for  a  rag 
to  tie  round  the  end  of  it.  I  hardly  know  yet  what  purpose 
thou'lt  put  this  stem  to,  the  shepherd  said,  but  he  gave  Jesus 
the  rag  he  asked  for,  and  Jesus  answered  :  I've  a  good  supply 
of  ewe's  milk  drawn  from  the  udder  scarce  an  hour   ago. 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  319 

Thou  hast  ewe's  milk  in  thy  bottle  !  the  villager  said.  Then 
it  may  be  I  shall  lose  my  breed  through  thoughtlessness. 
And  it  was  with  a  grave  face  that  he  watched  Jesus  tie  a 
rag  around  the  hollow  stem. 

He  put  the  stem  into  the  lamb's  jaws  and  poured  milk 
down  it,  feeding  the  lamb  as  well  as  the  ewe  could  have 
done.  It  may  be  I  shall  get  him  home  alive,  Jesus  muttered 
to  himself.  Thou'lt  do  it,  if  luck  be  with  thee,  and  if  thou 
canst  rear  him  my  breed  has  passed  from  me.  Thou'lt  be 
rewarded  for  taking  my  shekel,  Jesus  answered.  A  fine  lamb 
for  a  month,  the  villager  remarked.  One  that  will  soon  begin 
to  weigh  heavy  in  my  bosom,  Jesus  answered ;  a  true  proph- 
ecy, for  after  a  few  miles  Jesus  was  glad  to  let  him  run  by 
his  side;  and  knowing  now  no  other  mother  but  Jesus,  he 
trotted  after  him  as  he  might  after  the  ewe  :  divining  perhaps, 
Jesus  said  to  himself,  the  leathern  bottle  at  my  girdle. 

But  very  soon  Jesus  had  to  carry  him  again,  and,  despite 
his  weight,  they  were  at  noon  by  the  well  at  the  end  of  the 
oak  wood.  Lamb,  we'll  sleep  awhile  together  in  a  pleasant 
hollow  at  the  edge  of  the  wood.  Lay  thyself  down  and  doze. 
The  lamb  was  obedient,  but  before  long  he  awoke  Jesus  with 
his  bleating.  He  wants  some  milk,  he  said,  and  undid  the 
leather  girdle  and  placed  the  feeding-pipe  into  the  lamb's 
mouth.     But  before  giving  him  milk  he  was  moved  to  taste  it : 

for  if  the  milk  be  sour The  milk  has  soured,  he  said, 

and  the  poor  bleating  thing  will  die  in  the  wood,  his  bleatings 
growing  fainter  and  fainter.  He'll  look  into  my  face,  wonder- 
ing why  I  do  not  give  him  the  bottle  from  which  he  took 
such  a  good  feed  only  a  few  hours  ago ;  and  while  Jesus  was 
thinking  these  things  the  lamb  began  to  bleat  for  his  milk, 
and  as  Jesus  did  not  give  it  to  him  he  began  to  run  round 
in  search  of  the  ewe,  and  Jesus  let  him  run,  hoping  that 
a  wild  beast  would  seize  and  carry  him  away  and  with 
his  fangs  end  the  lamb's  sufferings  quicker  than  hunger 
could. 


320  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

But  no  wolf  or  panther  was  in  the  thicket,  and  the  lamb 
returned  to  him :  brought  back,  he  said,  by  a  memory  of 
the  bottle.  But,  my  poor  wee  lamb,  there  is  no  sweet  milk 
in  my  bottle,  only  sour,  which  would  pain  thee.  Think  no 
more  of  life,  but  lie  down  and  die :  we  shall  all  do  the  same 
some  day.  .  .  .  Thy  life  has  been  shorter  than  mine,  and 
perhaps  better  for  that.  No,  I've  no  milk  for  thee  and  can- 
not bear  to  look  in  thy  face  :  run  away  again  in  search  of  the 
ewe  and  find  instead  the  panther  that  took  her.  Poor  little 
lamb,  dying  for  milk  in  this  wild  place.  So  thou  hast  returned 
to  me,  having  found  neither  ewe  nor  panther.  Go,  and  seek 
a  wolf,  he  will  be  a  better  friend  to  thee  than  I. 

He  had  seen  many  lambs  die  and  did  not  understand  why 
he  should  feel  more  pain  at  this  lamb's  death  than  another's. 
But  it  was  so ;  and  now  all  his  hopes  and  fears  centred  in 
this  one  thing  that  Fate  had  confided  to  his  bosom.  A  little 
milk  would  save  it,  but  he  had  no  milk.  He  might  pick  him 
up  and  run,  calling  to  the  shepherds,  but  none  would  hear.  I 
cannot  listen  to  his  bleating  any  longer,  he  said,  and  tried  to 
escape  from  the  lamb,  but  he  was  followed  round  the  trees, 
and  just  as  he  was  about  to  climb  into  one  out  of  the  lamb's 
sight  his  nostrils  caught  the  scent  of  fleeces  coming  up  the 
hillside.  A  shepherd  is  leading  his  flock  to  the  well-head,  he 
said,  so,  wee  lamb,  thou  wilt  not  die  to-day,  and,  addressing 
himself  to  the  shepherd,  he  said :  I've  got  a  lamb  of  the 
right  breed,  but  have  no  milk  to  give  him.  Canst  thou  pay 
for  it  ?  the  shepherd  asked ;  and  Jesus  said,  I  can,  and  the 
shepherd  called  a  ewe  and  the  lamb  was  fed. 

Well,  luck  is  in  thy  way,  the  shepherd  said,  for  I  was  on 
my  way  to  another  well,  and  cannot  tell  what  came  into  my 
mind  and  turned  me  from  it  and  brought  me  up  here.  Every 
life,  Jesus  said,  is  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  it  was  not  his  will 
to  let  this  lamb  die.  Dost  believe,  the  shepherd  answered, 
that  all  is  ordered  so  ?  And  Jesus  answered  him  :  thou'lt  fill 
my  bottle  with  milk  ?     The  shepherd  said  :   I  will ;   but  thou 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  321 

hast  still  a  long  way  before  the  lamb  can  be  fed  again.  Hide 
thy  bottle  under  a  cool  stone  in  yon  forest  and  in  the  evening 
the  milk  will  still  be  sweet  and  thou  canst  feed  thy  lamb  again 
and  continue  thy  journey  by  starlight.  But  these  hills  are 
not  my  hills;  mine  are  yonder,  Jesus  said,  and  at  night  all 
shapes  are  different.  No  matter,  the  way  is  simple  from  this 
well,  the  shepherd  answered,  and  he  gave  Jesus  such  direc- 
tions as  he  could  follow  during  the  night.  Now  mind  thee, 
he  continued,  look  round  for  a  shepherd  at  daybreak.  He'll 
give  thee  fresh  milk  for  thy  lamb  and  by  to-morrow  evening 
thou'lt  be  by  the  Brook  Kerith.  And  this  advice  appearing 
good  to  Jesus,  he  turned  into  the  shade  of  the  trees  with  his 
lamb,  and  both  slept  together  side  by  side  till  the  moon 
showed  like  a  ghost  in  the  branches  of  the  trees. 

It  was  time  then  to  feed  the  lamb,  and  the  milk  being  sweet 
in  the  bottle,  the  lamb  drank  it  greedily;  and  when  he  had 
drunk  enough  Jesus  was  tempted  to  drink  what  the  lamb 
could  not  drink,  for  he  was  thirsty  after  eating  his  bread, 
but  he  went  to  the  well  and  took  a  little  water  instead,  and 
lay  down,  telling  the  lamb  that  he  might  sleep  but  a  little 
while,  for  they  must  be  ready  at  midnight  to  travel  again. 
If  we  meet  a  shepherd  thou  livest,  if  he  fail  us  thou  diest, 
Jesus  said,  and  seeing  a  shepherd  leaving  a  cavern  at  dawn 
with  his  flock,  Jesus  called  to  him  and  bought  milk  from  him 
and  once  more  the  twain  continued  their  journey,  the  lamb 
becoming  so  dependent  on  the  shepherd  that  Jesus  took  pleas- 
ure sometimes  in  hiding  himself  behind  a  rock,  and  as  soon 
as  the  lamb  missed  him  he  would  run  to  and  fro  bleating  in 
great  alarm  till  he  found  Jesus ;  and  when  he  came  upon  him 
he  thrust  his  nozzle  into  Jesus'  hand. 

It  was  then  more  than  at  any  time  he  delighted  in  being 
carried.  No,  my  good  lamb,  I've  carried  thee  far  and  now 
can  barely  carry  myself  to  the  bridge;  and  the  lamb  had  to 
follow  to  the  bridge,  and  they  began  to  ascend  the  terraces 
together,  but  the  steep  ascents  very  soon  began  to  tire  him, 

Y 


322  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

and  the  lamb  lay  down  and  bleated  for  Jesus  to  take  him 
up  in  his  arms,  which  he  did,  but,  overcome  with  the  weariness 
of  a  long  journey,  he  had  to  lay  him  down  after  a  few  paces. 
Yet  he  would  not  surrender  the  lamb  to  the  brethren  who 
came  and  offered  to  carry  him,  saying :  I  have  carried  him 
so  far  and  will  carry  him  to  the  end,  but  ye  must  let  me  rest 
on  your  arms.  Meanwhile,  fetch  me  a  little  milk,  for  the 
lamb  has  had  all  that  I  could  buy  from  the  shepherds  on  the 
hills,  and  do  not  ask  how  I  became  possessed  of  this  lamb, 
for  I  am  too  tired  to  tell  the  story.  So  did  he  speak,  holding 
the  lamb  to  his  bosom ;  and  leaning  on  the  arm  of  one  of 
the  brethren  while  another  pushed  from  behind,  and  in  his 
exhausted  state  he  reached  the  cenoby. 

Now  I  must  feed  my  lamb ;  go  to  Brother  Amos  and  ask 
him  to  bring  some  ewe's  milk  at  once.  But  the  brethren 
were  loath  to  go,  saying :  Brother  Amos  is  feeding  his  sheep 
far  from  here,  but  will  return  in  the  evening.  But  the  lamb 
must  be  fed  every  three  or  four  hours,  Jesus  answered,  and  do 
ye  go  at  once  to  Amos  and  tell  him  to  bring  the  milk  at  once. 
He  must  not  be  kept  waiting  for  his  milk.  Now  look  at  him 
and  say  if  any  of  ye  have  seen  a  finer  lamb.  I  can  speak  no 
more,  but  will  sleep  a  little  as  soon  as  I  have  placed  him  in  a 
basket.  But  wake  me  up  as  soon  as  the  milk  comes,  for  I 
will  trust  none  to  feed  him  but  myself,  and  he  dropped  off 
to  sleep  almost  on  these  words. 

The  Essenes,  understanding  that  the  lamb  had  caused 
Jesus  a  long  search,  went  after  Amos  as  they  were  bidden, 
and  finding  him  not  as  far  as  they  thought  for  with  his  flock, 
they  related  to  him  Jesus'  request  that  he  should  bring  some 
ewe's  milk  at  once,  which  he  did,  and  seeing  Jesus  in  deep 
sleep  he  said  :  it  is  a  pity  to  waken  him,  for  I  know  how  to 
feed  a  lamb  as  well  as  he  does.  May  I  not  ?  But  the 
Essenes  said :  he'll  be  vexed  indeed  if  the  lamb  be  fed  by 
any  but  him.  So  be  it,  Amos  answered ;  and  they  roused 
Jesus  with  difficulty,  for  his  sleep  was  deep,  and  when  he 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  323 

opened  his  eyes  he  knew  not  where  he  was  for  some  time. 
At  last  memory  returned  to  him,  and,  struggUng  from  the 
couch,  he  said  :  I  must  feed  my  lamb.  The  milk  is  fresh 
from  the  ewe  ?  he  asked.  Yes,  Jesus,  Amos  answered,  I 
have  just  drawn  it  from  the  udder.  As  soon  as  he  is  old 
enough  to  run  with  the  flock  I'll  bring  him,  Jesus  said,  and 
thou'lt  be  free  to  return  to  the  Scriptures. 

And  having  asked  that  he  might  be  awaked  in  four  hours 
his  eyes  closed,  which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  he  having 
slept  hardly  at  all  for  four  days.  Does  he  put  his  lamb 
before  the  Scriptures  ?  the  Essenes  asked  each  other,  and  they 
withdrew,  shaking  their  heads. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

JESUS  fell  back  into  sleep  as  soon  as  the  lamb  was  fed,  and 
it  was  in  this  second  sleep  of  more  than  six  hours  that  he 
regained  his  natural  strength.  Has  Joseph  returned  ?  he 
asked  on  awakening,  and  the  brother  nearest  him  answered 
that  he  had  not ;  whereupon  Jesus  asked  that  Hazael  should 
come  to  him,  and  he  said  to  him  :  Hazael,  Joseph  told  thee 
that  as  soon  as  his  business  was  transacted  in  Jericho  he 
would  return  hither,  and  if  that  were  not  possible  the  delay 
would  not  be  long.  But  four  days  have  passed  and  we 
haven't  seen  him  nor  have  we  news  of  him.  Now  how  is 
this  ?  He  couldn't  have  heard  in  Jericho  nor  in  Jerusalem 
of  my  faring  among  the  hills  of  Caesarea  in  search  of  a  lamb. 
It  was  only  on  those  hills  that  I  might  find  a  lamb  that  would 
recover  for  us  the  strength  that  has  gone  out  of  the  flock. 
And  I  would  that  Joseph  were  here  to  see  him  that  I've 
brought  back.  My  heart  misgives  me.  Thou'lt  feed  him 
in  my  absence,  he  said  to  one  of  the  brethren,  and  I'll  go 
down  on  to  the  terraces  and  wander  across  the  bridge,  for 
on  the  hills  over  yonder  I  may  catch  sight  of  Joseph  coming 
to  meet  me.  Can  none  tell  me  if  he  will  come  from  Jericho 
or  Jerusalem  .?  A  brother  cried  that  he  would  feed  the  lamb 
as  Jesus  directed,  and  the  brethren  at  work  among  the  fig 
trees  spoke  to  each  other  of  the  grief  visible  on  Jesus'  face 
as  he  passed  them,  and  questioned  each  other  and  sought  a 
reason  for  it.  Has  the  lamb  fallen  sick  ?  one  asked,  and  on 
that  thought  they  ran  up  the  terraces  to  inquire  for  the 
lamb  who  that  day  had  been  given  the  name  of  Caesar. 
The  lamb  sleeps  in  peace,  Hazael  answered,  but  Jesus,  his 

324 


THE   BROOK  -KERITH  325 

saviour,  has  gone  out  in  great  disorder  of  mind  to  get  tidings 
of  Joseph,  the  great  trader  in  figs  and  dates.  He  promised 
to  return  the  same  evening  after  transacting  his  business 
in  Jericho,  Hazael  continued.  Four  days  have  passed 
away  without  news  of  him ;  some  misfortune  may  have 
befallen  him.  May  have !  Hazael  repeated  under  his 
breath  as  he  walked  away.     Has  befallen  him  without  doubt. 

The  brethren  waited  for  Jesus  to  return,  but  he  did  not 
return  to  them ;  and  at  nightfall  a  watch  was  set  at  the 
bridge  head,  and  the  same  was  done  for  many  succeeding 
days,  till  the  story  reached  the  Brook  Kerith  that  Joseph 
had  been  killed  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  by  order  of  the 
Zealots.  Priests  never  forget  to  revenge  themselves  on 
those  that  do  not  submit  to  their  ideas  and  exactions,  Hazael 
muttered,  thereby  stirring  the  curiosity  of  the  brethren; 
but  he  could  not  tell  them  more,  Joseph's  relation  having 
been  insufficient  to  make  plain  the  truth  that  Joseph,  as 
Jesus'  friend,  must  have  earned  the  high  priest's  displeasure. 
A  very  little  suspicion,  he  said  to  himself,  is  enough  to  bring 
about  the  death  of  a  man  in  our  days;  and  the  priests  were 
always  jealous  and  afraid  of  the  prophets.  Is  then  our  Jesus 
a  prophet .?  Saddoc  asked,  and  Manahem's  eyes  were  full 
of  questions.  I  can  tell  ye  no  more  than  I've  said  already, 
Hazael  answered,  and  the  brethren  forgot  their  curiosity, 
for  their  hearts  were  stirred  with  pity.  A  great  grief  it  surely 
will  be,  they  said  to  one  another,  when  Jesus  returns  and 
hears  that  his  friend  is  dead,  and  they  asked  which  among 
them  should  be  the  one  to  tell  him  of  this  great  loss  that 
had  befallen  him.  Not  I,  said  one,  nor  I,  another  an- 
swered, and  as  they  passed  into  their  cells  it  was  the  opinion 
of  all  that  Hazael  should  tell  him. 

Next  morning  when  they  came  forth  from  their  cells,  after 
giving  thanks  for  the  returning  light,  they  stood  on  the  hillside, 
hoping  that  every  minute  would  bring  them  sight  of  Jesus 
returning.     At   last    a    shepherd    came   through   the    dusk, 


326  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

but  it  was  not  Jesus  but  Amos  coming  towards  them,  and 
the  news  he  brought  was  that  he  had  met  Jesus  on  the  hills 
wandering  like  one  of  disordered  mind.  He  has  taken  my 
sheep  from  me  and  has  lost  them,  I  fear.  But  why,  the 
brethren  cried,  didst  thou  leave  thy  sheep  to  him  ?  To 
which  Amos  could  make  no  straightforward  answer:  all  he 
knew  was  that  he  had  met  Jesus  and  been  greatly  frightened 
by  his  speech  and  his  show  of  gestures  and  demeanour.  All 
the  same,  he  said,  I  felt  I  had  better  let  him  have  the  sheep. 
And  the  brethren  said :  ruin  has  befallen  us  this  time. 
We  know  the  reason  of  the  disordered  mind  that  thou  tellest 
of.  Joseph  was  slain  by  the  Zealots  in  Jerusalem  by  order 
of  the  priests,  and  the  tidings  must  have  come  to  Jesus  as  he 
wandered  out  on  to  the  hills  seeking  his  friend,  and  it  was 
they  that  robbed  him  of  his  mind.  We  are  ruined,  the 
brethren  cried,  for  our  sheep  are  with  him,  and  he  without 
thought  for  anything  but  his  grief.  Amos  could  not  answer 
them  *nay,'  for  their  words  seemed  to  him  but  the  truth, 
and  they  all  returned  to  the  cenoby  to  mourn  for  Jesus  and 
themselves  till  Jesus  was  brought  back  to  them  by  some 
shepherds  who  found  him  wandering,  giving  no  heed  to 
the  few  sheep  that  followed  him ;  only  a  few  had  escaped 
the  wolves,  and  the  brethren  charged  Amos  with  the  rem- 
nant, muttering  among  themselves :  his  heart  is  broken. 
He  is  without  knowledge  of  us  or  the  world  around  him. 
But  why  does  he  turn  aside  from  our  dwelling,  preferring 
to  lie  with  his  dogs  under  the  rocks .?  It  is  for  that  our 
dwelling  reminds  him  of  Joseph.  It  was  here  he  saw  him 
last,  Manahem  replied.  It  will  be  well  to  leave  him  to 
wander  at  will,  giving  him  food  if  his  grief  allows  him  to 
come  for  it;  any  restraint  would  estrange  him  from  us,  nor 
may  we  watch  him,  for  when  the  mind  is  away  man  is  but 
animal,  and  animals  do  not  like  watchful  eyes.  We  may  only 
watch  over  him  lest  he  do  himself  bodily  harm,  Eleazor 
said.     There  is  no  harm,  Manahem  said,  he  can  do  himself, 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  327 

but  to  walk  over  the  cliffs  in  a  dream  and  so  end  his  misery. 
We  would  not  that  the  crows  and  vultures  fed  on  Jesus, 
Caleb  answered.  We  must  watch  lest  he  fall  into  the  dream 
of  his  grief.  But  he  lives  in  one.  Behold  him  now.  He  sees 
not  the  cliffs  over  yonder  nor  the  cliffs  beneath.  Nor  does 
he  hear  the  brook  murmur  under  the  cliffs.  Grief  is  a  won- 
derful thing,  Manahem  said,  and  it  overpowers  a  man  more 
than  anything  else ;  it  is  more  powerful  even  than  the  love  of 
God,  but  it  wears  away,  and  in  this  it  is  unlike  the  love  of 
God,  which  doesn't  change,  and  many  of  us  have  come 
here  so  that  we  may  love  God  the  better  without  interrup- 
tions. It  is  strange,  Eleazor  said,  that  one  who  loves  God 
as  truly  as  Jesus,  should  abandon  himself  to  grief.  Eleazor's 
words  caused  the  Essenes  to  drop  into  reveries  and  dreams, 
and  when  they  spoke  out  of  these  their  words  were :  his 
grief  is  more  like  despair.  And  in  speaking  these  words  they 
were  nearer  the  truth  than  they  suspected,  for  though  Jesus 
grieved  and  truly  for  Joseph,  there  was  in  his  heart  some- 
thing more  than  mortal  grief. 

It  often  seemed  to  him  as  he  sat  gazing  across  the  abyss 
that  his  temerity  in  proclaiming  himself  the  Messiah  was 
punished  enough  by  crucifixion  :  the  taking  from  him  of 
the  one  thing  that  crucifixion  had  left  behind  often  put  the 
thought  into  his  mind  that  God  held  him  accursed ;  and  in 
his  despair  he  lost  faith  in  death,  believing  he  would  be  held 
accursed  for  all  eternity.  He  forgot  to  take  food  and  drink; 
he  fed  upon  his  grief  and  would  have  faded  out  of  life  if 
Caesar  had  not  conceived  a  dislike  to  his  keeper  and  run 
bleating  among  the  rocks  till  he  came  upon  Jesus  whom 
he  recognised  at  once  and  refused  to  leave,  thrusting  a  nozzle 
into  Jesus'  hand  and  lying  down  by  his  side.  Nor  could 
the  brethren  beguile  the  lamb  from  Jesus  with  milk,  and 
Jesus,  taking  pity  on  the  faithful  animal,  said  :  give  me  the 
feeding  bottle,  I  will  feed  him.  Whereupon  Caesar  began 
to  bleat,  and  so  cheerfully,  that  all  conceived  a  new  affection 


328  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

for  him,  but  he  had  none  for  anybody  but  Jesus,  whom  he 
followed  about  the  cliffs  as  a  dog  might,  lying  down  at  his  side. 

The  twain  strayed  together  whither  there  was  scarce  foot- 
hold for  either,  and  the  brethren  said  as  they  watched  them  : 
if  Caesar  were  to  miss  his  footing  and  fall  over  the  edge,  the 
last  link  would  be  broken  and  Jesus  would  go  over  after 
him.  But  sheep  and  goats  never  miss  their  footing,  a 
brother  answered.  It  is  fortunate,  another  replied,  that 
Caesar  should  have  attached  himself  to  Jesus.  He  seems  to 
say,  I  get  happier  and  happier  every  day,  and  his  disposition 
will  react  on  Jesus  and  may  win  him  out  of  his  melancholy. 

And  it  seemed  as  if  the  brother  had  guessed  rightly,  for 
though  Jesus'  face  showed  no  interest  in  the  brethren,  nor  in 
the  cenoby,  he  seemed  to  enjoy  the  sympathy  of  the  dumb 
animal.  He  liked  to  call  to  Caesar  and  to  lay  his  hand 
upon  Caesar's  head,  and  to  look  into  his  eyes,  and  in  those 
moments  of  sympathy,  the  brethren  said  :  he  forgets  his 
grief.  But  Caesar  is  coming  into  ramhood,  Saddoc  answered, 
and  will  have  to  go  away  with  the  flock.  There  were  brethren 
who  cried  out  against  this :  let  the  flock  perish  rather  than 
Jesus  should  be  deprived  of  Caesar.  Wouldst  have  him  re- 
main when  he  is  a  great  ram  ?  Manahem  asked,  and  the 
others  answered  :  yes,  for  Jesus  takes  no  thought  for  any- 
thing but  Caesar,  and  the  brethren  conferred  together,  and 
spent  much  thought  in  trying  to  discover  a  remedy  other 
than  Caesar  for  Jesus'  grief. 

But  one  day  Jesus  said  to  the  brethren :  Caesar  is  coming 
into  ramhood,  and  I  must  take  him  away  to  the  hills,  he 
must  come  with  me  and  join  the  ewes.  Art  thou  going  to 
be  our  shepherd  again  ?  said  they.  If  ye  will  intrust  the 
flock  to  me.  My  thoughts  will  never  wander  from  it  again. 
Jesus  spoke  the  words  significantly,  and  many  of  the  brethren 
believed  that  he  would  prove  himself  to  be  the  great  shepherd 
that  he  was  of  yore,  but  others  said  :  his  grief  will  break  out 
upon  him  on  the  hills;    but  these  counsels  were  overruled 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  329 

by  Manahem  and  Saddoc.  Jesus,  Saddoc  said,  never  smiles 
and  his  words  are  few,  but  he  is  himself  again,  and  the  best 
shepherd  that  ever  walked  these  hills  is  worse  than  he,  so 
it  is  said.  He  lost  a  few  sheep,  Manahem  said,  in  the  first 
days  of  his  great  grief,  but  his  mind  is  altogether  now  on 
the  encouragement  of  the  flock  and  Amos  is  wearied  of  it 
and  would  return  to  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures. 

Thou  speakest  well,  Manahem,  Saddoc  returned,  for  it  was 
in  his  mind  as  it  was  in  Manahem's  that  the  sight  of  men  and 
the  sound  of  men's  voices  were  a  torture  to  Jesus,  and  that  he 
longed  for  solitude  and  silence  and  the  occupation  of  the  flock. 

The  cenoby  will  never  be  the  same  again  without  our  pet, 
some  of  the  brethren  cried,  but  others  said  :  it  must  be  so. 
We'll  go  to  see  Caesar's  lambs,  they  cried,  as  he  was  being 
led  away.  There  will  be  no  lambs  by  Caesar  this  spring, 
Jesus  answered.  He'll  run  with  the  ewes  and  that's  about 
all ;  for  a  ram  is  not  fit  for  service  till  he  is  two  years  old. 
And  the  distraction  of  Jesus'  grief  being  removed  from  the 
cenoby,  the  Essenes  fell  to  talking  again  of  the  great  schism 
and  what  came  of  it.  Are  they  happier  in  wedlock  than 
we  are  in  celibacy,  was  the  question  they  often  put  to  each 
other  on  the  balcony;  and  a  sudden  meeting  of  thoughts 
set  them  comparing  the  wives  beyond  Jordan  with  the  ewes 
of  the  hills.  Which  are  the  most  fruitful  ?  they  asked  them- 
selves. And  it  was  averred  that  though  twin  lambs  were 
of  equal  worth,  it  might  fall  out  in  the  strange  destinies  that 
beset  human  life  that  one  of  human  twins  might  be  a  robber 
and  the  other  a  devout  Essene. 

On  a  balcony  overhanging  an  abyss  some  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  through  which  a  brook  sings  a  monotonous  song, 
men  may  dream  a  long  while  on  the  problem  of  destiny, 
and  on  awaking  from  their  diff"erent  meditations  it  was 
natural  that  they  should  speak  about  the  difficulties  the 
brethren  by  the  lake  would  experience  when  they  set  them- 
selves to  discover  women  who  would    accept    the    rule  of 


330  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

life  of  the  Essenes  and  for  no  enjoyment  for  themselves,  but 
that  the  Order  might  not  perish,  and  with  it  holiness  pass 
out  of  the  world. 

Of  what  women  will  they  possess  themselves  ?  a  brother 
often  asked.  Not  Jewish  women  who  would  prefer  to  join 
themselves  with  Pharisees  or  Sadducees  rather  than  with 
Essenes,  and  the  converts,  the  brother  continued,  that 
might  be  made  among  the  Gentile  women  from  Mesopotamia 
and  Arabia  could  not  be  counted  upon  to  produce  pious 
children,  though  the  fathers  that  begot  the  children  might 
be  themselves  of  great  piety.  These  words  put  the  thought 
into  another  brother's  mind,  that  a  woman  is  never  faithful 
to  one  man,  an  abiding  doctrine  among  the  Essenes :  and 
the  group  of  three,  Caleb,  Eleazor  and  Benjamin,  began  to 
speak  of  the  stirs  and  quarrels  that  these  converts  would 
provoke  in  the  cenoby.  For  even  amongst  those  who  have 
renounced  women,  there  are  always  a  few  that  retain  a 
longing  for  women  in  their  heart,  and  the  smouldering 
embers  will  burst  into  flame  at  the  sight  of  woman.  Is  not 
that  so,  Benjamin.?  There  is  much  truth  in  thy  words, 
Caleb,  Benjamin  answered,  and  I  would  know  if  they  parti- 
tion off  the  women  into  an  enclosure  by  themselves,  and 
only  take  them  out  at  a  time  judged  to  be  the  fruit- 
fulest,  for  it  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  experience  pleasure, 
and  as  soon  as  the  women  are  with  child,  the  brethren 
we  have  left  behind,  I  trust,  withdraw  from  the  company 
of  their  wives.  Unless,  said  Eleazor,  all  the  rules  of  our 
order  be  abolished.  We  did  well  to  leave  them,  Caleb 
answered.  And  then,  posing  his  small  fat  hands  on  the 
parapet,  he  said :  women  have  ever  been  looked  upon  as 
man's  pleasure,  and  our  pleasures  are  as  wolves,  and  our 
virtues  are  as  sheep,  and  as  soon  as  pleasure  breaks  into 
the  fold  the  sheep  are  torn  and  mangled.  We're  better 
here  with  our  virtues  than  they  by  the  lake  with  their 
pleasures. 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  331 

Trouble  has  begun  amongst  them  already,  Eleazor  said, 
and  Benjamin  turned  to  ask  him  if  he  had  gotten  news  of 
the  brethren  by  the  lake;  and  he  answered  that  yesterday 
a  shepherd  told  him  that  many  brothers  had  left  the  settle- 
ment. We  did  well,  Caleb  said,  to  cherish  our  celibacy, 
and  the  price  of  living  on  this  rock  was  not  too  high  a  price 
for  it.  But  tell  us  what  thou  hast  heard,  Eleazor.  Eleazor 
had  heard  that  troubles  were  begun,  but  he  hoped  children 
would  bring  peace  to  all.  But  all  women  aren't  fruitful, 
Caleb  said,  and  Benjamin  was  vexed  with  Eleazor  because 
he  hadn't  asked  how  many  women  were  already  quick. 
And  they  fell  to  talking  scandal,  putting  forward  reasons 
why  some  of  the  brethren  should  separate  themselves  from 
their  wives. 

Perhaps  we  shall  never  learn  the  why  and  the  wherefore, 
Eleazor  said,  it  being  against  our  rules  to  absent  ourselves 
without  permission  from  the  cenoby,  and  if  we  were  to  break 
this  rule,  Hazael  might  refuse  to  receive  us  again.  We 
should  wander  on  the  hills  seeking  grass  and  roots,  for  our 
oaths  are  that  we  take  no  food  from  strangers.  Yet  I'd 
give  much  to  hear  how  our  brethren,  for  they  are  our 
brethren,  fare  with  their  wives. 

And  when  they  met  on  the  balcony,  the  elder  members 
of  the  community,  Hazael,  Mathias,  Saddoc  and  Mana- 
hem,  like  the  younger  members,  conferred  together  as  to 
whether  any  good  could  come  to  those  that  had  taken  wives 
to  themselves  for  their  pleasure.  Not  for  their  pleasure, 
Hazael  said,  but  that  holiness  may  not  pass  out  of  the  world 
for  ever.  But  as  holiness,  Mathias  was  moved  to  remark, 
is  of  the  mind,  it  cannot  be  affected  by  any  custom  we  might 
impose  upon  our  corporeal  nature.  Whereupon  a  disputa- 
tion began  in  which  Manahem  urged  upon  Mathias  that 
if  he  had  made  himself  plain  it  would  seem  that  his  belief 
was  that  holiness  was  not  dependent  upon  our  acts;  and 
if  that  be  so,  he  asked,  why  do  we  live  on  this  ledge  of  rock  } 


332 


THE  BROOK  KERITH 


To  which  question  Mathias  answered  that  the  man  whose 
mind  is  in  order  need  not  fear  that  he  will  fall  into  sin,  for 
sin  is  but  a  disorder  of  the  mind. 

A  debate  followed  regarding  the  relation  of  the  mind  to 
the  body  and  of  the  body  to  the  mind,  and  when  all  four 
were  wearied  of  the  old  discussion,  Saddoc  said  :  is  it  right 
that  we  should  concern  ourselves  with  these  things,  asking 
which  of  the  brothers  have  taken  wives  and  how  they  be- 
have themselves  to  their  wives.  It  seems  to  me  that  Saddoc 
is  right,  these  matters  don't  concern  us  who  have  no  wives 
and  who  never  will  have.  But,  said  Manahem,  though  this 
question  has  been  decided  so  far  as  our  bodies  are  concerned, 
are  we  not  justified  in  considering  marriage  as  philosophers 
may,  no  subject  being  alien  to  philosophy?  Is  not  that 
so,  Mathias  ?  No  subject  is  alien  to  philosophy,  Mathias 
agreed,  to  which  Saddoc  replied,  we  could  discuss  this 
matter  with  profit  if  we  knew  which  of  the  brothers  had 
taken  to  himself  a  wife;  but  only  rumours  reach  us  here; 
and  the  brethren  looked  across  the  chasm,  their  thoughts 
crossing  it  easily  and  passing  over  the  intervening  hills  down 
into  the  plains  and  over  Jordan.  We  should  no  doubt 
be  content,  said  Manahem,  with  our  own  beliefs  and  abide 
in  the  choice  that  we  have  made  without  questioning  it 
further,  as  Hazael  has  said.  Yet  it  is  hard  to  keep  thoughts 
of  the  brethren  we  have  left  out  of  our  minds.  How  are 
we,  Hazael,  to  remain  unmoved  when  rumours  touching 
on  the  lives  of  those  we  have  left  behind  reach  us  ?  Is  it 
not  merely  natural  that  we  should  desire  to  hear  how  our 
brethren  fare  in  married  life  f  Dost  think,  Hazael,  that 
those  we  left  behind  never  ask  each  other  how  we  fare  in 
our  celibacy  ?  Man  is  the  same  all  the  world  over,  inas- 
much as  he  would  like  to  hear  he  has  avoided  the  pitfall 
his  brother  has  fallen  into.  It  is  said,  Manahem  continued, 
that  the  elders  yonder  are  disturbed  now  as  to  whether 
they  too  should  take  wives,  though  in  the  great  disputation 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  333 

that  we  took  part  in,  it  was  decided  that  marriage  should 
be  left  to  the  younger  and  more  fruitful.  Wherefore,  if 
it  is  said  that  trouble  has  come,  Hazael  answered,  we  should 
be  sorry  for  our  weak  brethren,  and  if  stories  reach  us,  he 
continued,  we  should  receive  them  with  modesty  :  we  should 
not  go  out  to  seek  stories  of  the  misfortunes  of  those  who 
have  not  been  as  wise  as  we,  and  of  all  we  should  not  wish 
to  go  down  to  Jordan  to  enquire  out  the  truth  of  these 
stories;  Caleb  and  Benjamin  asked  betimes  for  leave  to  visit 
them.  Eleazor,  too,  has  asked,  but  I  have  refused  them, 
always  knowing  well  whither  their  curiosity  would  lead 
them.  Lest,  Mathias  interposed,  they  bring  back  the  spirit 
and  sense  of  women  with  them. 

A  flock  of  doves  crossing  over  the  chasm  on  quick  wings 
put  an  end  to  the  discourse,  and  as  no  more  stories  reached 
them  who  dwelt  in  the  cavern  above  the  Brook  Kerith  re- 
garding the  behaviour  of  the  wives  to  their  husbands  and 
of  the  husbands  towards  their  wives,  the  thoughts  of  the 
younger  brethren  reverted  to  Caesar,  and  to  the  admiration 
of  the  ewes  for  his  beauty.  A  year  later  when  Jesus  came 
down  from  the  hills,  he  was  met  with  cries  of:  how  fares 
it  with  Caesar?  Does  he  tire  on  the  hills;  when  will  the 
ewes  begin  to  drop  their  lambs  ?  A  buzz  of  talk  began  at 
once  in  the  cenoby  when  the  news  arrived  that  Caesar's 
lambs  were  appearing,  but  the  brethren  could  not  conceal 
their  disappointment  that  they  should  look  like  the  lambs 
they  had  seen  before.  We  expected  the  finest  lambs  ever 
seen  on  these  hills,  they  said,  and  thou  hast  no  more  word 
to  say  in  praise  of  them  than  that  they  are  good  lambs. 
Jesus  answered  that  in  two  months  he  would  be  better  able 
to  judge  Caesar's  lambs  and  to  choose  amongst  them  some 
two  or  three  that  would  continue  the  flock  worthily.  Which  ? 
the  brethren  asked,  but  Jesus  said  a  choice  would  be  but 
guess  work  at  present,  none  could  pick  out  the  making  of  a 
good  ram  till  past  the  second  month.     Caleb  marked  one 


334  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

which  he  was  sure  would  be  chosen  later  and  Benjamin 
another,  and  Eleazor  another;  but  when  the  time  came  for 
Jesus  to  choose,  it  was  none  of  these  that  he  chose,  and  on 
hearing  of  their  mistakes,  the  brethren  were  disappointed, 
and  thought  no  more  of  the  flock,  asking  only  casually  for 
Caesar,  and  forgetting  to  mourn  his  decease  at  the  end  of 
the  fourth  year;  his  successor,  coming  to  them  without  ro- 
mantic story,  the  brethren  were  from  henceforth  satisfied 
to  hear  from  time  to  time  that  the  hills  were  free  from  rob- 
bers; that  the  shepherds  had  banded  together  in  great 
wolf  hunts;  and  that  freed  from  their  natural  enemies,  the 
wolves  and  robbers,  the  flock  had  increased  in  numbers  be- 
yond the  memory  of  the  oldest  shepherd  on  the  hills. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  brethren  waxed  rich,  and  after  their  midday  meal 
they  talked  of  the  exceeding  good  fortune  that  had  been 
vouchsafed  to  them,  dwelling  on  the  matter  so  earnestly 
that  a  scruple  sometimes  rose  up  in  their  hearts.  Did  we 
do  well  to  forego  all  troubles  ?  Do  the  selfish  find  favour 
in  God's  sight  ?  they  were  asking,  when  Caleb  said :  we 
have  visitors  to-day,  and  looking  across  the  chasm  they  saw 
three  men  emerging  from  the  shadow  of  the  high  rock. 
They  may  be  robbers,  Benjamin  cried,  and  we  would  do 
well  to  tell  the  brethren  working  along  the  terraces  to  pass 
the  word  down  to  him  who  stands  by  the  bridge  head  that 
he  is  to  raise  the  bridge  and  refuse  to  lower  it  till  the  strangers 
speak  to  him  of  their  intentions  and  convince  him  that  they 
are  peaceful.  That  is  well  said,  Benjamin,  Eleazor  replied. 
Amos  who  is  standing  by  the  fig  tree  yonder,  will  pass  on 
the  word.  They  cried  out  to  him,  and  watched  the  warn- 
ing being  passed  from  Essene  to  Essene  till  it  reached  the 
brother  standing  by  the  bridge-head.  He  looked  in  the 
direction  of  the  strangers  coming  down  the  path,  and  then 
in  haste  set  himself  to  pull  the  ropes  and  press  the  levers 
whereby  the  bridge  was  raised  and  lowered.  Now  they 
are  speaking  across  the  brook  to  each  other,  Benjamin 
said  :  and  the  group  on  the  balcony  saw  the  bridge  being 
let  down  for  the  strangers  to  cross  over.  It  seems  to  me, 
Benjamin  continued,  Bartholomew  might  have  spent  more 
time  enquiring  out  their  intentions.  But  we  are  many 
and  they  are  few,  Caleb  answered,  and  the  Essenes  on  the 
balcony   watched    somewhat    anxiously,    Bartholomew   con- 

335 


336  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

ducting  the  strangers  back  and  forth  through  the  terraces. 
Is  not  Bartholomew  as  trustworthy  as  any  amongst  us  ? 
Eleazor  asked.  It  isn't  Hkely  that  he  would  mistake  rob- 
bers for  pilgrims ;  and  as  if  Bartholomew  divined  the  anxiety 
of  those  above  him  he  called  up  the  rocks  that  the  visitors 
he  was  bringing  were  Essenes  from  the  lake.  Essenes  from 
the  lake !  Caleb  cried.  Then  we  shall  learn,  Eleazor  re- 
plied, which  is  preferable,  celibacy  or  marriage.  But  we 
mustn't  speak  at  once  to  them  of  such  matters.  We  must 
prepare  food  for  them,  which  they  will  require  after  their 
long  journey.  Our  president  will  be  with  you  in  a  moment, 
Bartholomew  said,  addressing  Shallum,  a  tall  thin  man, 
whose  long  neck  and  sloping  shoulders  and  dark  round  eyes 
reminded  his  brethren  of  an  ungainly  bird.  His  compan- 
ions, Shaphan  and  Eleakim,  were  of  different  appearances. 
Shaphan's  skull,  smooth  and  glistening,  rose,  a  great  dome, 
above  a  crumpled  face,  he  moped  like  a  sick  monkey,  and 
dashed  tears  from  his  eyes.  Eleakim,.  a  bandy-legged  little 
fellow  with  half-closed  eyes  like  a  pig,  agreed  that  Shallum 
speak  for  them.  Shallum  began.  We  are,  as  you  have  already 
heard,  from  the  great  cenoby  at  the  head  of  the  lake  and, 
therefore,  I  need  not  tell  you  the  reason  why  you  are  here 
and  why  the  residue  are  yonder,  but  will  confine  myself 
to  the  story  of  our  flight  from  the  lake  to  the  brook. 
Honourable  President  and  brethren,  it  is  known  unto 
you  that  the  division  of  our  Order  was  not  brought 
about  by  any  other  reason  than  a  dispute  on  both  sides 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  Order.  We  know  that,  Hazael 
answered,  and  attribute  no  sinfulness  to  the  brethren  that 
differed  from  us.  Our  dream,  Shallum  continued,  was  to 
perpetuate  holiness  in  this  world,  and  our  dream  abides,  for 
man  is  a  reality  only  in  his  dreams ;  his  acts  are  but  a  gro- 
tesque of  his  dream. 

At  these  words  the  Essenes  gathered  close  together,  and 
with  brightening  eyes   listened,  for  they  interpreted  these 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  337 

words  to  mean  that  the  brethren  by  the  lake  had  fallen 
headlong  into  unseasonable  pleasures,  whereof  they  were 
now  reaping  the  fruit:  no  sweet  one,  if  the  fruit  might  be 
judged  by  the  countenances  of  their  visitors.  As  I  have 
said,  Shallum  continued,  it  was  with  us  as  it  has  been  with 
men  always  —  our  acts  became  a  mockery  of  our  dreams 
almost  from  the  beginning,  for  when  you  left  us  we  gave 
out  that  we  were  willing  to  receive  women  who  would  share 
our  lives  and  with  us  perpetuate  holiness.  We  gave  out 
that  we  were  willing  to  view  all  who  came  and  consider  their 
qualifications,  and  to  take  them  as  wives  if  they  should 
satisfy  us,  that  they  would  obey  our  rule  and  bear  children ; 
but  the  women  that  came  in  response  to  our  advertisement, 
though  seemingly  of  pious  and  honourable  demeanour,  were 
not  satisfied  with  us.  Our  rule  is,  as  you  brethren  know 
well,  to  wear  the  same  smock  till  it  be  in  rags,  and  never 
to  ask  for  a  new  pair  of  sandals  till  the  last  pieces  of  the  old 
pair  have  left  our  feet.  We  presented,  therefore,  no  fair 
show  before  the  women  who  came  to  us,  and  when  our  rule 
was  told  to  them,  they  withdrew,  dissatisfied  with  our 
appearances,  with  the  food  we  ate,  and  the  hours  we  kept, 
and  of  all  with  the  rule  that  they  should  live  apart  from  us, 
only  keeping  company  with  us  at  such  times  when  women 
are  believed  to  be  most  fruitful.  Such  was  the  first  batch 
in  brief;  the  second  batch  (they  came  in  batches)  pleaded 
that  they  could  not  be  wives  for  us,  it  being  that  we  were 
held  in  little  esteem  by  the  Sadducees  and  the  Pharisees, 
and  we  were  reproved  by  them  for  not  sending  animals 
for  sacrifice  to  the  Temple,  a  thing  that  we  must  do  if  we 
would  have  them  live  with  us.  But  it  being  against  our  rule 
to  send  animals  to  the  Temple  for  sacrifice,  we  bade  them 
farewell  and  sent  forth  messengers  into  other  lands,  inviting 
the  Gentiles  to  come  to  us  to  receive  instruction  in  the 
Jewish  religion,  with  promises  to  them  that  if  our  rule  of 
life  was  agreeable  to  them,  and  they  were  exact  in  the 
z 


338  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

appointments  of  all  rites  and  ceremonies,  we  should  be  willing 
to  marry  them  after  their  time  of  probationship  was  over. 
On  this  second  advertisement,  women  came  to  us  from 
Arabia  and  Mesopotamia,  and  though  we  did  not  approve 
of  the  fine  garments  they  wore  and  the  sweet  perfumes 
that  trailed  after  them,  we  liked  these  things,  as  all  men 
do,  with  our  senses ;  and  our  minds  being  filled  with  thoughts 
of  the  children  that  would  continue  the  order  of  the  Essenes, 
we  spoke  but  little  against  the  fine  linen  that  these  women 
brought  and  the  perfumes  they  exhaled,  whereby  our  ruin 
was  consummated.  Joazabdus,  our  president,  himself  fell 
into  the  temptation  of  woman's  beauty  and  was  led  into 
sinful  acquiescence  of  a  display  of  the  images  she  had  brought 
with  her ;  for  without  a  display  of  them  on  either  side  of  the 
bridal  bed  she  would  not  permit  his  embraces.  She  was  of 
our  religion  in  all  else,  having  abjured  her  gods  and  goddesses 
at  every  other  moment  of  the  day  and  night;  but  license  of 
her  body  she  could  not  grant  except  under  the  eyes  of  As- 
tarte,  and  Joazabdus,  being  a  weak  man,  allowed  the  images 
to  remain.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  these  images  spread,  we 
went  in  deputation  to  our  president  to  beg  him  to  cast  out 
the  images  from  our  midst,  but  he  answered  us :  but  one 
image  remains  —  that  of  Astarte :  none  looks  upon  it  but 
she,  and  if  I  cast  out  the  image  that  she  reverences  she  will 
go  hence  and  with  the  fruit  of  my  body  within  her  body, 
and  a  saint  may  be  lost  to  us.  But  we  answered  him  that 
even  as  Jacob  set  up  parti-coloured  rods  before  the  conceiving 
ewes  that  they  might  bear  parti-coloured  lambs,  so  to  gaze 
in  the  marriage  bed  upon  the  image  of  Astarte  would  surely 
stamp  upon  the  children  that  might  come,  the  image  of 
that  demon.  But  he  was  not  to  be  moved,  whereupon  we 
withdrew,  saying  to  one  another :  we  shall  not  move  him 
out  of  his  wickedness;  and  that  was  why  we  went  to  his 
brother  Daddeus  and  asked  him  to  accept  the  headship  of 
the  community  in  his  brother's  place.     And  seeing  that  he 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  339 

was  unwilling  to  set  himself  against  his  brother,  we  said  : 
our  God  comes  before  all  things,  and  here  we  have  heathen 
goddesses  in  our  midst ;  and  the  end  oT  it  was  that  Cozby, 
that  was  the  Chaldean  woman's  name,  put  poison  into 
Daddeus'  food,  thinking  to  establish  her  rule  thereby,  but 
as  soon  as  the  death  of  Daddeus  became  known  many 
left  the  cenoby  polluted  in  their  eyes  by  heathenism  and 
murder. 

So  it  always  falls  out,  Hazael  cried,  wine  and  women  have 
lost  the  world  many  saints.  Wine  deceives  the  minds  of 
those  that  drink  it,  and  exalts  men  above  themselves,  and 
leads  them  into  acts  that  in  any  other  moment  they  would 
shrink  from,  leaving  them  more  stupid  than  the  animals. 
Nor  is  the  temptation  of  women  less  violent  than  that  of 
wine.  Women's  beauty  is  even  more  potent,  for  once  a  man 
perceives  it  he  becomes  as  if  blind  to  all  other  things ;  his 
reason  deserts  him,  he  broods  upon  it  by  day,  and  falls  at 
last,  as  our  brother  has  told  us,  into  unseasonable  pleasures, 
like  Solomon  himself,  about  whom  many  things  are  related, 
but  not  so  far  as  I  know  that  he  became  so  intoxicated  with 
women's  various  beauty  that  he  found  his  pleasure  at  last 
in  his  own  humiliation.  If  not  Solomon,  others  have.  There 
is  a  story  of  a  king  that  allowed  his  love  of  a  certain  queen 
to  take  so  great  a  hold  upon  him  that  he  asked  her  to  come 
up  the  steps  of  his  throne  to  strike  him  on  the  face,  to  take 
his  crown  from  his  head  and  set  it  upon  her  own.  This 
was  in  his  old  age,  and  it  is  in  old  age  that  men  fall  under 
the  unseasonable  sway  of  women.  He  was  once  a  wise  man, 
so  we  should  refrain  from  blame,  and  pity  our  brethren 
who  have  fallen  headlong  into  the  sway  of  these  Chaldean 
and  Arabian  women.  I  might  say  much  more  on  this 
subject,  but  words  are  useless,  so  deeply  is  the  passion  for 
women  ingrained  in  the  human  heart.  Proceed,  therefore, 
brother  :  we  would  hear  the  trouble  that  women  have  brought 
on  thee,  brother  Eleakim.     At  once  all  eyes  were  turned 


340  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

towards  the  little  fellow  whose  wandering  odours  put  into 
everybody's  mind  thoughts  of  the  great  price  he  must  have 
paid  in  bracelets  an(f  fine  linen,  but  Eleakim  told  a  different 
story  —  that  he  was  sought  for  himself  alone,  too  much  so, 
for  the  Arabian  woman  that  fell  to  his  lot  was  not  content 
with  the  chaste  and  reasonable  intercourse  suitable  for  the 
begetting  of  children,  the  reason  for  which  they  had  met, 
but  would  practice  with  him  heathen  rites,  and  of  a  kind 
so  terrible  that  one  night  he  fled  to  his  president  to  ask  for 
counsel.  But  the  president,  who  was  absorbed  in  his  own 
pleasures,  drove  him  from  his  door,  saying  that  every  man 
must  settle  such  questions  with  his  wife.  Hazael  threw 
up  his  hands.  Say  no  more,  brother  Eleakim,  thou  didst 
well  to  leave  that  cenoby.  We  welcome  thee,  and  having 
heard  thee  in  brief  we  would  now  hear  brother  Shaphan. 
At  once  all  eyes  were  turned  towards  the  short,  thick,  silent 
man,  who  had  till  now  ventured  into  no  words ;  and  as  they 
looked  upon  him  their  thoughts  dwelt  on  the  strange  choice 
the  Curator  had  made  when  he  chose  brother  Shaphan  for 
a  husband ;  for  though  they  were  without  knowledge  of 
women,  their  sense  told  them  that  brother  Shaphan  would 
not  be  pleasing  to  a  woman.  But  Eleakim's  story  had  pre- 
pared them  for  every  strange  taste,  and  they  waited  eagerly 
for  Shaphan's.  But  Shaphan  had  not  spoken  many  words 
when  tears  began  to  roll  down  his  cheeks,  and  the  brethren 
of  the  Brook  Kerith  bethought  themselves  that  it  might  be 
a  kindly  act  to  avert  their  eyes  from  him  till  he  recovered 
his  composure;  but  as  his  grief  continued  they  sought  to 
comfort  him,  telling  him  that  his  troubles  were  now  ended. 
He  would  not,  however,  lift  his  face  from  his  hands  at 
their  entreaty,  and  his  companions  said  :  that  the  intervals 
between  his  tears  since  he  was  married  were  never  long. 
At  these  words  Shaphan  lifted  his  face  from  his  hands 
and  dashed  some  tears  from  his  eyelids.  He  will  tell  us 
now,  the  brethren  said  to  themselves,  but  he  only  uttered 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  341 

a  few  incoherent  words,  and  his  face  sank  back  into  his 
hands. 

And  it  was  then  that  Jesus  appeared  at  the  end  of  the 
domed  gallery.  Hazael  signed  to  one  of  the  brethren  to 
bring  a  chair  to  him,  and  when  Jesus  was  seated,  Hazael 
told  him  who  the  strangers  were  in  these  words :  Great 
trouble  has  fallen  upon  our  Order,  he  said,  the  wives  the 
brethren  have  taken  unto  themselves  against  my  counsel 
have  not  obeyed  their  husbands.  Wilt  tell  our  brother 
Jesus  the  trouble  that  has  befallen  those  that  stayed  by  the 
lake,  Shallum  ?  I  will,  Shallum  replied,  for  it  will  please 
him  to  hear  my  story  and  it  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  me  to 
tell  of  the  quarrels  that  set  my  wife  and  I  apart  till  at  last 
I  was  forced  to  send  her  back  to  her  own  people.  My  story 
will  be  profitable  to  you,  though  you  are  without  wives,  for 
to  err  is  human.  The  brethren  were  at  once  all  ear  for  the 
new  story,  but  Shallum  was  so  prolix  in  his  telling  of  his 
misfortunes  that  the  brethren  begged  him  to  tell  them  again 
of  the  ranging  of  the  gods  and  goddesses  on  either  side  of 
the  president's  marriage  bed.  He  paid  no  heed  to  them, 
however,  but  proceeded  into  his  own  story  and  so  slow  was 
his  procedure  that  Hazael  had  to  interrupt  him  again.  Shal- 
lum, he  said,  it  is  clear  to  me  that  our  shepherd  has  come 
with  some  important  tidings  to  me,  and  it  will  be  kind  of 
thee  to  forgo  the  rest  of  thy  story  for  the  present  at  least  till 
I  have  conferred  with  our  shepherd.  I  should  have  been 
loath,  Jesus  interposed,  to  interrupt  a  discourse  which 
seems  to  be  pleasing  to  you  all  and  which  would  be  to  me  too 
if  I  had  knowledge  of  the  matters  which  concern  you,  but 
the  differences  of  men  with  their  wives  and  wives  with  their 
husbands  are  unknown  to  me,  my  life  having  been  spent  on 
the  hills  with  rams  and  ewes.  As  he  said  these  words  a 
smile  came  into  his  eyes.  The  first  smile  I  have  seen  on 
his  face  for  many  years,  Hazael  said  to  himself,  and  Jesus 
continued :     I  have  left  my  flock  in  charge  of  my  serving 


342  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

boy,  for  I  have  come  to  tell  the  president  that  he  must  not 
be  disappointed  if  many  sheep  are  lost  on  the  hills  this 
year;  robbers  having  hidden  themselves  again  in  the  caves 
and  fortified  themselves  among  the  cliffs,  so  difficult,  that 
to  capture  them  soldiers  must  be  let  down  in  chests  and 
baskets.  A  perilous  undertaking  this  is,  for  the  robbers 
are  armed  and  determined  upon  revolt  against  Herod,  who 
they  say  is  not  a  Jew,  and  holds  his  power  in  Judea  from  the 
Romans. 

They  are  robbers  inasmuch  as  they  steal  my  sheep,  but 
they  are  men  who  value  their  country  higher  than  their 
lives.  This  I  know,  for  I  have  conferred  with  them  :  and 
Jesus  told  the  Essenes  a  story  of  an  old  man  who  lived  in  a 
cave  with  his  family  of  seven,  all  of  whom  besought  him  to 
allow  them  to  surrender  to  the  Romans.  Cowards,  he  said, 
under  his  breath,  and  made  pact  with  them  that  they  should 
come  out  of  the  cave  one  by  one,  which  they  did,  and  as 
they  came  he  slew  them  and  threw  their  bodies  into  the 
precipice,  sons  and  daughters,  and  then  he  slew  his  wife, 
and  after  reproaching  Herod  with  the  meanness  of  his 
family,  although  he  was  then  a  king,  he  threw  himself  from 
the  cliff's  edge. 

It  is  a  great  story  that  thou  tellest,  Jesus,  Manahem 
said,  and  it  is  well  to  hear  that  there  are  great  souls  still 
amongst  us,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Maccabees.  However  this 
may  be,  Saddoc  interposed,  these  men  in  their  strife  against 
the  Romans  must  look  to  our  flocks  for  food.  Three  sheep 
were  taken  from  me  last  night,  Jesus  answered,  and  the 
rest  will  go  one  by  one,  two  by  two,  three  by  three,  unless 
the  revolt  be  quelled.  And  if  the  revolt  be  not  quelled, 
Saddoc  continued,  the  robbers  will  need  all  we  have  gotten, 
which  is  little;  they  may  even  need  our  cave  here,  and 
unless  we  join  them  they  will  cast  us  over  the  precipices. 
It  was  to  ask :  are  we  to  take  up  arms  against  these  robbers 
that  I  came  hither,  Jesus  said.     You  will  confer  amongst 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  343 

yourselves,  brethren,  Hazael  said,  and  will  forgive  me  if  I 
withdraw :  Jesus  would  like  to  speak  with  me  privately. 

The  Essenes  bowed,  and  Hazael  walked  up  the  domed 
gallery  with  Jesus,  and,  as  soon  as  they  disappeared  at  the 
other  end  Shallum  began :  Your  shepherd  tells  you  the 
truth ;  the  hills  are  once  more  infested  with  the  remains  of 
Theudas'  army.  But  who  may  Theudas  be  ?  one  of  the 
brethren  asked.  So  you  have  not  heard,  Shallum  cried, 
of  Theudas,  and  you  living  here  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
track  he  followed  with  his  army  down  to  Jordan.  Little 
news  reaches  us  here,  Saddoc  said,  and  he  asked  Shallum 
to  tell  of  Theudas,  and  Shallum  related  how  Theudas  had 
gathered  a  great  following  together  in  Jerusalem  and  pro- 
voked a  great  uprising,  of  the  people  whom  he  called  to 
follow  him  through  the  gates  of  the  city,  which  they  did, 
and  over  the  hills  as  far  as  Jordan,  The  current  of  the  river, 
he  said,  will  stop,  and  the  water  rise  up  in  a  great  wall  as 
soon  as  I  impose  my  hands.  We  have  no  knowledge  if 
the  waters  would  have  obeyed  his  bidding,  for  before  the 
waters  had  time  to  divide  a  Roman  soldier  struck  off  the 
prophet's  head  and  carried  it  to  Jerusalem  on  a  spear,  where 
the  sight  of  it  was  well  received  by  the  priests,  for  Theudas 
preached  against  the  Temple,  against  the  law,  and  the 
traditions  as  John  and  his  disciples  had  done  beforetimes. 
A  great  number,  he  continued,  were  slain  by  the  Roman 
soldiers,  and  the  rest  dispersed,  having  hidden  themselves 
in  the  caves,  and  become  robbers  and  rebels.  Nor  was 
Theudas  the  last,  he  began  again ;  there  was  another,  an 
Egyptian,  a  prophet  or  a  sorcerer  of  great  repute,  at  whose 
bidding  the  people  assembled  when  he  announced  that 
the  walls  of  the  city  would  fall  as  soon  as  he  lifted  up  his 
hands.  They  must  follow  him  through  the  breach  into 
the  desert  to  meet  the  day  of  judgment  by  the  Dead  Sea. 
And  what  befell  this  last  prophet  ?  Saddoc  asked.  He 
was  pursued   by  the  Roman  soldiers,  Eleakim  cried,  start- 


344  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

ing  out  of  a  sudden  reverie.  And  was  he  taken  prisoner  ? 
Manahem  asked.  No,  for  he  threw  a  rope  into  the  air  and 
climbed  out  of  sight,  Eleakim  answered.  He  must  have 
been  a  great  prophet,  or  an  angel  more  like,  for  a  prophet 
could  not  climb  up  a  rope  thrown  into  the  air,  Caleb  said. 
No,  a  prophet  could  not  do  that.  But  it  is  easier,  Shaphan 
snorted,  to  climb  up  a  rope  thrown  into  the  air  than  to  re- 
turn to  a  wife,  if  the  flesh  be  always  unwilling.  At  the 
words  all  eyes  were  turned  to  Shaphan,  who  seemed  to 
have  recovered  his  composure.  It  is  a  woeful  thing  to 
be  wedded,  he  cried.  But  why  didst  thou  accept  a  wife .? 
Manahem  asked.  Why  were  ye  not  guided  by  our  counsels  ? 
We  hoped,  Shaphan  said,  to  bring  saints  into  the  world 
and  we  know  not  yet  that  robbers  .may  not  be  the  fruit  of 
our  wives'  wombs.  But  if  the  flesh  was  always  unwilling, 
Manahem  answered,  thou  hast  naught  to  fear.  It  would 
be  better,  Shallum  interrupted,  to  turn  us  adrift  on  the 
hills  than  that  we  should  return  to  the  lake  where  all  is 
disorder  now.  Ye  are  not  many  here,  Eleakim  said,  to 
defend  yourselves  against  robbers,  and  we  have  hands  that 
can  draw  swords.  Our  president  alone  can  say  if  ye  may 
remain,  Manahem  said ;  he  is  in  the  gallery  now  and  coming 
towards  us.  Our  former  brethren,  Hazael,  have  renounced 
their  wives,  Manahem  began,  and  would  return  to  us  and 
help  to  defend  our  cave.  You  come  submissive  to  our  wis- 
dom ?  Hazael  asked.  The  three  strangers  replied  that  they 
did  so,  and  Hazael  stood,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  three  strangers. 
We  will  defend  you  against  robbers  if  these  would  seek  to 
dispossess  you  of  your  cave,  Eleakim  cried.  We  have  but 
two  cells  vacant,  Hazael  said.  It  matters  not  to  us  where 
we  sleep  if  we  sleep  alone;  and  the  president  smiling  at  Sha- 
phan's  earnestness  said  :  But  three  more  mouths  to  feed  will 
be  a  strain  upon  our  stores  of  grain.  Even  though  there  be 
three  more  mouths  to  feed,  Shallum  answered,  there  will  be 
six  more  hands  to  build  a  wall  against  the  robbers.     To 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  345 

build  a  wall  against  robbers  ?  Hazael  said.  It  is  a  long 
while  we  have  been  dreaming  of  that  wall ;  and  now  it 
seems  the  time  has  come  to  hold  a  council.  We  have  been 
speaking  of  a  wall  to  protect  us  against  robbers  ever  since 
we  came  here,  Manahem  cried,  and  Saddoc  answered :  we 
have  delayed  too  long,  we  must  build  :  the  younger  brethren 
will  reap  the  benefit  of  our  toil. 

We  all  seem  to  be  in  favour  of  the  wall,  Hazael  said.  Are 
there  no  dissidents  ?  None.  For  the  next  year  or  more 
we  shall  be  builders  rather  than  interpreters  of  the  Scriptures. 
Mathias  will  come  to  the  wall  to  discourse  to  us,  Caleb 
interjected,  and  Saddoc  answered  him :  whatsoever  may 
befall  us,  we  are  certain  of  one  thing,  we  shall  always  be 
listening  to  Mathias.  But  Mathias  is  a  man  of  great 
learning,  Caleb  replied.  Of  Greek  learning,  maybe,  Saddoc 
answered.  But  even  that  is  not  sure,  some  years  ago  — 
But  if  Greek  wisdom  be  of  no  value  why  is  it  taught  here  ? 
Caleb  interrupted,  and  the  old  Essene  answered  :  that  Greek 
wisdom  was  not  taught  in  the  Brook  Kerith  but  Greek 
reasoning  was  applied  to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture. 
But  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  Mathias'  teaching  for 
some  years.  Years  ?  sayest  thou,  Saddoc  ?  Amos  inter- 
jected. I  spoke  plainly,  did  I  not  ?  Saddoc  answered.  If 
it  will  take  us  years  to  build  the  wall,  Amos  said,  we  may 
as  well  save  ourselves  the  trouble  of  becoming  builders,  for 
the  robbers  will  be  upon  us  before  it  is  high  enough  to  keep 
them  out ;  we  shall  lose  our  lives  before  a  half-finished  wall, 
and  methinks  I  might  as  well  have  been  left  to  my  flock  on 
the  hills.  Thou  speakest  truly,  Saddoc  replied,  for  I  doubt 
if  thou  wilt  prove  a  better  builder  than  thou  wast  a  shepherd. 
If  my  sheep  were  poor,  thy  interpretations  of  the  Scriptures 
are  poorer  still,  Amos  said,  and  the  twain  fell  to  quarrelling 
apart,  and  the  brethren  took  counsel  together.  If  this 
mischief  did  not  befall  them,  and  a  wall  twenty  feet  high 
and  many  feet  in  thickness  were  raised,  would  they  be  able 


346  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

to  store  enough  food  in  the  cave  to  bear  a  three  months' 
siege  ?  And  would  they  be  able  to  continue  the  cultivation 
of  their  figs  along  the  terrace  if  robbers  were  at  the  gates  ? 
But  a  siege,  Manahem  answered  these  disputants,  cannot 
well  be,  for  the  shepherds  on  the  hills  would  carry  the  news 
of  the  siege  to  Jericho,  whence  troops  would  be  sent  to  our 
help,  and  at  their  approach  the  robbers  would  flee  into  the 
hills.  What  we  have  to  fear  is  not  a  siege,  but  a  sudden 
assault;  and  from  a  successful  assault  a  wall  will  save  us. 
That  is  true,  Saddoc  said.  And  to  defend  the  wall  we  must 
possess  ourselves  of  weapons,  Caleb,  Benjamin  and  Eleakim 
cried ;  and  Shallum  told  them  that  a  certain  hard  wood,  of 
which  there  was  an  abundance  in  Jericho,  could  be  shaped 
into  cutlasses  whereby  a  man's  head  might  be  struck  off  at  a 
blow. 

At  these  words  the  brethren  took  heart,  and  Hazael  se- 
lected Shallum  for  messenger  to  go  to  Jericho  for  the  wood, 
and  a  few  days  afterwards  the  Essenes  were  busy  carving 
cutlasses  for  their  defence,  and  designing  a  great  wall  with 
towers,  whilst  others  were  among  the  cliffs  hurling  down 
great  masses  of  stone  out  of  which  a  wall  would  soon  begin 
to  rise. 

And  every  day  an  hour  after  sunrise,  the  Essenes  were 
quarrying  stone  and  building  their  wall,  and  though  they 
had  designed  it  on  a  great  scale,  it  rose  so  fast,  that  in  two 
months  they  were  bragging  that  it  would  protect  them  against 
the  great  robber  Saulous,  a  pillager  of  many  caravans,  of 
whom  Jesus  had  much  to  say  when  he  came  down  from  the 
hills.  The  wall  will  save  you,  Jesus  said,  from  him.  But 
who  will  save  my  flock  from  Saulous,  who  is  besieged  in  a 
cave,  and  comes  forth  at  night  to  seek  for  food  for  himself 
and  his  followers.  But  if  the  cave  is  besieged .?  Caleb  said, 
laying  down  his  trowel.  The  cave  has  two  entrances,  Jesus 
answered,  and  he  told  them  that  his  belief  now  was  that 
what  remained  of  the  flock  should  be  sent  to  Jerusalem  for 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  347 

sale.  The  rams,  of  course,  should  be  kept,  and  a  few  of  the 
best  ewes  for  a  flock  to  be  raised  in  happier  times.  These 
were  his  words  one  sad  evening,  and  they  were  so  convincing 
that  the  builders  laid  down  their  trowels  and  repaired  to  the 
vaulted  gallery  to  sit  in  council.  But  while  they  sat  think- 
ing how  they  might-  send  representatives  to  the  procurator 
the  robbers  were  preparing  their  own  doom  by  seizing  a 
caravan  of  more  than  fifty  camels  laden  with  wheat  for 
Jerusalem.  A  very  welcome  booty  no  doubt  it  was  con- 
sidered by  the  robbers,  but  booty  —  was  that  their  only 
object  ?  They  hoped,  as  the  procurator  knew  well,  to  bring 
about  an  uprising  against  Roman  rule  by  means  of  bread 
riots,  and  this  last  raid  provided  him  with  a  reason  for  a 
grand  punitive  expedition.  Many  troops  of  soldiers  were 
sent  out  with  orders  to  bring  all  that  could  be  taken  alive 
into  Jerusalem  for  crucifixion,  no  mean  punishment  when 
carried  out  as  the  procurator  meditated  it.  He  saw  it  in 
his  thoughts  reaching  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  and  a 
death  penalty  for  all.  Pilate's  methods  of  smoking  the 
robbers  out  of  their  caves  has  not  proved  a  sufficient  deter- 
rent, he  said  to  himself,  and  a  smile  came  into  his  face  and 
he  rubbed  his  hands  when  the  news  of  the  first  captures 
was  brought  to  him,  and  every  day  small  batches  were  an- 
nounced. We  shall  wait,  he  said,  until  we  have  fifty-three, 
the  exact  number  of  camels  that  were  stolen,  and  then  the 
populace  shall  come  out  with  me  to  view  them.  The  spec- 
tacle will  perhaps  quench  the  desire  of  robbery  in  everybody 
who  is  disposed  to  look  upon  it  as  an  easy  way  of  gaining  a 
livelihood.  And  the  renown  of  this  crucifixion  will  spread 
through  Judea.  For  three  days  at  least  malefactors  will 
be  seen  dying  at  distances  of  half-a-mile,  and  lest  their 
suff^erings  should  inspire  an  attempt  at  rescue,  a  decree 
shall  be  placed  over  every  cross  that  any  attempt  at  rescue 
will  be  punishable  by  crucifixion,  and  to  make  certain  that 
there  shall  be  no  tampering  with  Roman  justice,  the  soldiers 


348  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

on  guard  shall  be  given  extra  crosses  to  be  used  if  a  comrade 
should  cut  down  a  robber  or  give  him  drugs  to  mitigate  his 
agony.  And  all  this  was  done  as  had  been  commanded. 
The  robbers  were  exposed  at  once  on  the  road  from  Jerusalem, 
and  it  was  on  the  first  day  of  the  great  crucifixion  that  Jesus, 
coming  round  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  with  his  flock,  was 
brought  to  a  sudden  stop  before  a  group  of  three. 

These,  about  six  or  seven  hours,  a  Roman  soldier  said,  in 
answer  to  Jesus'  question  as  to  the  length  of  time  they  had 
been  on  their  crosses,  not  more  than  six  hours,  the  soldier 
repeated,  and  he  turned  to  his  comrade  for  confirmation  of 
his  words.  Put  a  lance  into  my  side,  a  robber  cried  out,  and 
God  will  reward  thee  in  heaven.  Thou  hast  not  ceased  to 
groan  since  the  first  hour.  But  put  a  lance  into  my  side, 
the  robber  cried  again.  I  dare  not,  the  soldier  answered. 
Thou'lt  hang  easier  to-morrow.  But  all  night  I  shall  suffer; 
put  a  lance  into  my  side,  for  my  heart  is  like  a  fire  within  me. 
And  do  the  same  for  me,  cried  the  robbers  hanging  on  either 
side.  All  night  long,  cried  the  first  robber,  the  pain  and  the 
ache  and  the  torment  will  last ;  if  not  a  lance,  give  me  wine 
to  drink,  some  strong,  heady  wine  that  will  dull  the  pain. 
Thy  brethren  bear  the  cross  better  than  thou.  Take  cour- 
age and  bear  thy  pain.  I  was  not  a  robber  because  I  wished 
it,  my  house  was  set  on  fire  as  many  another  to  obtain  re- 
cruits. Yon  shepherd  is  no  better  than  I.  Why  am  I  on 
the  cross  and  not  he .?  His  turn  may  come,  who  knows, 
though  he  stands  so  happy  among  his  sheep.  To-night  he 
will  sleep  in  a  cool  cavern,  but  I  shall  linger  in  pain.  Give 
me  drink  and  I  will  tell  thee  where  the  money  we  have  robbed 
is  hidden.  The  money  may  not  be  in  the  cave,  and  if  it  be 
we  might  not  be  able  to  find  it,  the  soldier  answered ;  and 
the  crucified  cried  down  to  him  that  he  could  make  plain 
the  spot.  The  soldier  was  not,  however,  to  be  bribed,  and 
they  told  the  crucified  that  the  procurator  was  coming  out 
to  visit  the  crosses  on  the  morrow,  and  would  be  disappointed 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  349 

if  he  found  dead  men  upon  them  instead  of  dying  men. 
Shepherd,  the  soldiers  will  not  help  us,  canst  thou  not  help 
us  ?  Happy  shepherd,  that  will  sleep  to-night  amongst  thy 
sheep.  Come  by  night  and  give  us  poison  when  these 
soldiers  are  asleep.  We  will  reward  thee.  Lift  not  thy 
hand  against  Roman  justice,  the  soldier  said  to  Jesus,  lest 
thou  takest  his  place  on  the  cross.     Such  are  our  orders. 

Jesus  hurried  away  through  the  hills,  pursued  by  memories 
of  the  crucified  robbers,  and  he  went  on  and  on,  with  the 
intent  of  escaping  from  their  cries  and  faces,  till,  unable  to 
walk  farther,  he  stopped,  and,  looking  round,  saw  the  tired 
sheep,  their  eyes  mutely  asking  him  why  he  had  come  so 
far,  passing  by  so  much  good  herbage  without  halting.  Poor 
sheep,  he  said,  I  had  forgotten  you,  but  there  is  yet  an  hour 
of  light  before  folding-time.  Go,  seek  the  herbage  among 
the  rocks.  My  dogs,  too,  are  tired,  he  added,  and  want 
water,  and  when  he  had  given  them  some  to  drink  he  sat 
down,  hoping  that  the  crucified  might  not  return  to  his 
eyes  and  ears.  But  he  need  not  have  hoped  :  he  was  too 
tired  to  think  of  what  he  had  seen  and  heard,  and  sat  in 
peace  watching  the  sunset  till,  as  in  a  vision,  a  man  in  a 
garden,  in  an  agony  of  doubt,  appeared  to  him.  He  was 
betrayed  by  a  disciple  and  taken  before  the  priests  and 
afterwards  before  Pilate,  who  ordered  him  to  be  scourged 
and  crucified,  and  beneath  his  cross  the  multitude  passed, 
wagging  their  heads,  inviting  him  to  descend  if  he  could 
detach  himself  from  the  nails.  A  veil  fell  and  when  it  was 
lifted  Joseph  was  bending  over  him,  and  soon  after  was 
carrying  him  to  his  house.  The  people  of  that  time  rose  up 
before  him :  Esora,  Matred,  and  the  camel-driver,  the  scent 
of  whose  sheepskin  had  led  him  back  to  his  sheep,  and  he 
had  given  himself  to  their  service  with  profit  to  himself, 
for  it  had  kept  his  thoughts  from  straying  backwards  or 
forwards,  fixing  them  in  the  present.  He  had  lived  in  the 
ever-fleeting  present  for  many  years  —  how  many .?     The 


350  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

question  awoke  him  from  his  reverie,  and  he  sat  wondering 
how  it  was  he  could  think  so  quietly  of  things  that  he  had 
put  out  of  his  mind  instinctively,  till  he  seemed  to  himself 
to  be  a  man  detached  as  much  from  hope  as  from  regret. 
It  was  through  such  strict  rule  that  I  managed  to  live  through 
the  years  behind  me,  he  said.  I  felt  that  I  must  never  look 
back,  but  in  a  moment  of  great  physical  fatigue  the  past 
returned,  and  it  lies  before  me  now,  the  sting  taken  out  of 
it,  like  the  evening  sky  in  tranquil  waters.  Even  the  mem- 
ory that  I  once  believed  myself  to  be  the  Messiah  promised 
to  the  Jews  ceases  to  hurt;  what  we  deem  mistakes  are 
part  and  parcel  of  some  great  design.  Nothing  befalls  but 
by  the  will  of  God.  My  mistakes  !  why  do  I  speak  of  them 
as  mistakes,  for  like  all  else  they  were,  from  the  beginning 
of  time  and  still  are  and  will  be  till  the  end  of  time,  in  the 
mind  of  God.  His  thoughts  continued  to  unroll,  it  was  not 
long  before  he  felt  himself  thinking  that  the  world  was  right 
to  defend  itself  against  those  that  would  repudiate  it.  For 
the  world,  he  said  to  himself,  cannot  be  else  than  the  world, 
a  truth  that  was  hidden  from  me  in  those  early  days.  The 
world  does  not  belong  to  us,  but  to  God.  It  was  he  that 
made  it,  and  it  is  for  him  to  unmake  it  when  he  chooses  and 
to  remake  us  if  he  chooses.  Meanwhile  we  should  do  well 
to  accept  his  decrees  and  to  talk  no  more  of  destroying  the 
Temple  and  building  it  up  again  in  three  days.  Nor  should 
we  trouble  ourselves  to  reprove  the  keepers  of  the  Temple 
for  having  made  themselves  a  God  according  to  their  own 
image  and  likeness,  with  passions  like  a  man  and  angers 
like  a  man,  thereby  falling  into  idolatry,  for  what  else  is 
our  God  but  an  Assyrian  king  who  sits  on  a  throne  and 
metes  out  punishments  and  rewards .?  It  may  be  that  the 
priests  will  some  day  come  into  the  knowledge  that  all 
things  are  equal  in  God's  sight,  and  that  he  is  not  to  be  won 
by  sacrifices,  observances  or  prayers,  that  he  has  no  need 
of  these  things,  not  even  of  our  love,  or  it  may  be  that  they 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  351 

will  remain  priests.  But  though  God  desires  neither  sacri- 
fices, observances,  nor  even  love,  it  cannot  be  that  we  are 
wholly  divorced  from  God.  It  may  be  that  we  are  united 
to  him  by  the  daily  tasks  which  he  has  set  us  to  perform. 

Jesus  was  moved  to  put  his  pipes  to  his  lips,  and  the  sheep 
returned  to  him  and  followed  him  into  the  cavern  in  which 
they  were  to  sleep  that  night. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

IT  is  a  great  joy  to  return  to  thought  after  a  long  absence 
from  it,  and  Jesus  was  not  afraid,  though  once  his  con- 
science asked  him  if  he  were  justified  in  yielding  himself 
unreservedly  to  reason.  A  man's  mind,  he  answered,  like 
all  else,  is  part  of  the  Godhead;  and  at  that  moment  he 
heard  God  speaking  to  him  out  of  the  breeze.  My  beloved 
son,  he  said,  we  shall  never  be  separated  from  each  other 
again.  And  Jesus  replied :  not  again,  Father,  for  thou 
hast  returned  to  me  the  God  that  I  once  knew  in  Nazareth 
and  in  the  hills  above  Jericho,  and  lost  sight  of  as  soon  as 
I  began  to  read  the  Book  of  Daniel.  How  many,  he  asked 
himself,  have  been  led  by  reading  that  book  into  the  belief 
that  they  were  the  precursors  of  the  Messiah  ?  We  know 
of  Theudas  and  the  Egyptian,  and  there  were  many  others 
whose  names  have  not  reached  us.  But  I  alone  believed 
myself  to  be  the  Messiah.  He  was  astonished  he  could 
remember  so  great  a  sin  and  not  fear  God.  But  I  cannot 
fear  God,  for  I  love  God,  he  said ;  my  God  neither  forgives 
nor  punishes,  and  if  we  repent  it  should  be  for  our  own 
sakes  and  not  to  please  God.  Moreover,  it  must  be  well 
not  to  waste  too  much  time  in  repentance,  for  it  is  surely 
better  to  understand  than  to  repent.  We  learn  through 
our  sins.  If  it  had  not  been  for  mine,  I  should  not 
have  learnt  that  quires  and  scrolls  lead  men  from  God, 
and  that  to  see  and  hear  God  we  have  only  to  open  our 
eyes  and  ears.  God  is  always  about  us.  We  hear  him  in 
the  breeze,  and  we  find  him  in  the  flower.  He  is  in  these 
things  as  much  as  he  is  in  man,  and  all  things  are  equal 
in  his  sight ;   Solomon  is  no  greater  than  Joshbekashar. 

3Si 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  353 

^  He  had  not  remembered  the  old  shepherd,  who  had 
taught  him  all  he  knew  about  sheep,  for  many  a  day.  It 
is  nigh  on  five  and  forty  years,  he  said  to  himself,  since 
he  called  me  to  hold  the  ewes  while  he  made  them  clean 
for  the  winter.  It  was  in  yon  cave  the  flock  was  folded 
when  I  laid  hands  on  the  ewes  for  the  first  time  and 
dragged  them  forward  for  him  to  clip  the  wool  from  the 
rumps.  He  could  see  in  his  memory  each  difi^erent  ewe 
trotting  away,  looking  as  if  she  were  thankful  for  the 
shepherd's  kind  office  towards  her.  There  was  something 
extraordinarily  restful  in  his  memory  of  old  Joshbekashar, 
and  to  prolong  it  Jesus  fell  to  recalling  the  old  man's  words ; 
and  every  little  disjointed  sentence  raised  up  the  old  man 
before  him.  It  was  but  three  times  that  I  held  the  ewes 
for  him,  so  it  cannot  be  much  more  than  forty  years  since 
that  first  clipping.  Now  I  come  to  think  on  it,  the  clipping 
befell  on  a  day  like  to-day.  We'll  clip  our  ewes  to-day, 
and  it  was  with  a  sense  of  memorial  service  in  his  mind 
that  he  called  to  young  Jacob  to  come  to  his  aid,  saying : 
Joshbekashar's  flock  was  always  folded  in  yon  cave  for  this 
clipping,  the  only  change  is  that  I  am  the  clipper  and  thou'rt 
holding  them  for  me.  There  are  forty-five  to  be  clipped, 
and  just  the  same  as  before  each  ewe  will  trot  away  into  the 
field  looking  as  if  she  were  thankful  at  having  been  made 
clean  for  the  winter.  On  these  words  both  fell  to  their 
work,  and  the  cunning  hand  spent  no  more  than  a  minute 
over  each.  Stooping  over  ewes  makes  one's  back  ache, 
he  said,  rising  from  the  last  one,  using  the  very  same 
words  he  heard  forty  years  before  from  Joshbekashar : 
time  brings  back  the  past !  he  said.  We  repeat  the 
words  of  those  that  have  gone  before  while  doing  their 
work;  and  it  is  likely  we  are  doing  God's  work  as  well  by 
making  the  ewes  clean  for  the  winter  as  by  cutting  their 
throats  in  the  Temple.  All  the  same  stooping  over  ewes 
makes  one's  back  ache,  he  repeated,  for  the  words  evoked 


354  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

the  old  shepherd,  and  he  waited  for  Jacob  to  answer  in 
the  words  spoken  by  him  forty  years  ago  to  Joshbekashar. 
Himself  had  forgotten  his  words,  but  he  thought  he  would 
recognise  them  if  Jacob  were  inspired  to  speak  them.  But 
Jacob  kept  silence  for  shame's  sake,  for  his  hope  was  that 
the  flock  would  be  given  to  his  charge  as  soon  as  old  age 
obliged  Jesus  to  join  his  brethren  in  the  cenoby. 

Thou'lt  be  sorry  for  me,  lad,  I  know  that  well,  but 
thou  hast  begun  to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  thou'lt 
walk  the  hills  at  the  head  of  the  flock  like  another; 
it  is  but  proper  that  thou  shouldst,  and  it  is  but  natural 
that  the  time  should  seem  long  to  thee;  but  take  on 
a  little  patience,  this  much  I  can  vouch  for,  every  bone 
in  me  was  aching  when  I  left  the  cavern  this  morning, 
and  my  sight  is  no  longer  what  it  was.  Master  Jesus, 
I'd  as  lief  wait;  the  hills  will  be  naught  without  thee. 
Dost  hear  me.  Master  ?  Jesus  smiled  and  dropped  back 
into  his  meditations  and  from  that  day  onward  very 
little  sufficed  to  remind  him  that  he  would  end  his  days 
in  the  cenoby  reading  the  Scriptures  and  interpreting 
them.  In  the  cenoby,  he  said,  men  do  not  think,  they 
only  read,  but  in  the  fields  a  shepherd  need  never  lose 
sight  of  the  thought  that  leads  him.  A  good  shepherd 
can  think  while  watching  his  sheep,  and  as  the  flock 
was  feeding  in  good  order,  he  took  up  the  thread  of 
a  thought  to  which  he  had  become  attached  since  his 
discovery  that  signs  and  sounds  of  God's  presence  are 
never  lacking  on  earth.  As  God's  constant  companion 
and  confidant  he  had  come  to  comprehend  that  the  world 
of  nature  was  a  manifestation  of  the  God  he  knew  in  him- 
self. I  know  myself,  he  said  one  day,  but  I  do  not  know 
the  God  which  is  above,  for  he  seems  to  be  infinite;  nor  do 
I  know  nature,  which  is  beyond  me,  for  that,  too,  seems 
to  run  into  an  infinite,  but  an  infinite  that  is  not  that  of 
God.     A  few  moments  later  it  seemed  to  him  he  might 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  355 

look  upon  himself  as  an  islet  between  two  infinities.  But 
to  which  was  he  nearer  in  eternity  ?  Ah,  if  he  knew  that ! 
And  it  was  then  that  a  conviction  fell  upon  him  that  if  he 
remained  on  the  hills  he  would  be  able  to  understand  many 
things  that  were  obscure  to  him  to-day.  It  will  take  about 
two  years,  he  said,  and  then  many  things  that  are  dark  will 
become  clear.  Two  infinites,  God  and  nature.  At  that 
moment  a  ewe  wandering  near  some  scrub  caught  his 
attention.  A  wolf,  he  said,  may  be  lurking  there.  I  must 
bring  her  back;  and  he  put  a  stone  into  his  sling.  A  wolf 
is  lurking  there,  he  continued,  else  Gorbotha  would  not 
stand  growling.  Gorbotha,  a  golden-haired  dog,  like  a 
wolf  in  build,  stood  snuffing  the  breeze,  whilst  Thema,  his 
sister,  sought  her  master's  hand.  A  moment  after  the 
breeze  veered,  bringing  the  scent  to  her,  and  the  two  dogs 
dashed  forward  into  the  scrub  without  finding  either  wolf 
or  jackal  lying  in  wait.  All  the  same,  he  said,  a  wolf  or  a 
jackal  must  have  been  lying  there,  and  not  long  ago,  or 
else  the  dogs  would  not  have  growled  and  rushed  to  the 
onset  as  they  did. 

They  returned  perplexed  and  anxious  to  their  master, 
who  resumed  his  meditation,  saying  to  himself  that  if 
aching  bones  obliged  him  to  return  to  the  cenoby  he 
would  have  to  give  up  thinking.  For  one  only  thinks 
well  in  solitude  and  when  one  thinks  for  oneself  alone; 
but  in  the  cenoby  the  brethren  think  together.  All  the 
same  my  life  on  the  hills  is  not  over  yet,  and  an  hour  later 
he  put  his  pipes  to  his  lips  and  led  his  flock  to  different 
hills,  for,  guided  by  some  subtle  sense,  he  seemed  to  divine 
the  springing  up  of  new  grass ;  and  the  shepherds,  know- 
ing of  this  instinct  for  pasturage,  were  wont  to  follow  him, 
and  he  was  often  at  pains  to  elude  them,  for  on  no  hill- 
side is  there  grass  enough  for  many  flocks. 

My  poor  sheep,  he  said,  as  he  watched  them  scatter 
over   a   grassy   hillside.     Ye're   happy    this   springtime   for 


356  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

ye  do  not  know  that  your  shepherd  is  about  to  be  taken 
from  you.  But  he  has  suffered  too  much  in  the  winter 
we've  come  out  of  to  remain  on  the  hills  many  more  years. 
Before  leaving  you  he  must  discover  a  shepherd  that 
will  care  for  you  as  well  as  I  have  done.  Amos  is  dead ; 
there  is  no  one  in  the  cenoby  that  understands  sheep. 
Would  ye  had  speech  to  counsel  me.  But  tell  me,  what 
would  ye  say  if  I  were  to  leave  you  in  Jacob's  charge .? 
He  stood  waiting,  as  if  he  expected  the  sheep  to  answer, 
and  it  was  then  it  began  to  seem  to  Jesus  he  might  as  well 
intrust  his  flock  to  Jacob  as  to  another. 

He  had  sent  him  out  that  morning  with  twenty  lambs 
that  were  yet  too  young  to  run  with  the  flock,  and  he  now 
stood  waiting  for  him,  thinking  that  if  he  lost  none 
between  this  day  and  the  end  of  the  summer,  the  flock 
might  be  handed  over  to  him.  Every  young  man's  past 
is  tarnished,  he  continued,  for  he  could  not  forget  that 
Jacob  had  begun  by  losing  his  master's  dogs,  two  had 
been  killed  by  panthers.  Nor  was  this  the  only  misfortune 
that  had  befallen  him.  Having  heard  that  rain  had  fallen 
in  the  west,  he  set  out  for  Caesarea  to  redeem  his 
credit,  he  hoped,  but  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  day 
he  could  find  no  cavern  in  which  to  fold  his  sheep,  and 
he  lay  down  in  the  open,  surrounded  by  his  flock,  un- 
suspicious that  a  pack  of  wolves  had  been  trailing  him 
from  cavern  to  cavern  since  he  left  the  Jordan  valley  — 
the  animals  divining  that  their  chance  would  come  at 
last.  It  would  have  been  better,  Jacob  said,  if  the 
wolves  had  fallen  upon  him,  for  iafter  this  disaster  no 
one  would  employ  him,  and  he  had  wandered  an  outcast, 
living  on  the  charity  of  shepherds,  sharing  a  little  of 
their  bread.  But  such  charity  could  not  last  long  and 
he  would  have  had  to  sit  with  the  beggars  by  the  way- 
side above  Jericho  if  Jesus  had  not  given  his  lambs  into 
his  charge,  by  this  act  restoring  to  Jacob  some  of  his  lost 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  357 

faith  in  himself.  He  had  gone  away  saying  to  himself: 
Jesus,  who  knows  more  than  all  the  other  shepherds  put 
together,  holds  me  to  be  no  fool,  and  one  day  I'll  be  trusted 
again  with  a  flock.  I'm  young  and  can  wait,  and,  who 
knows,  Jesus  may  tell  me  his  cure  for  the  scab,  and  by 
serving  him  I  may  get  a  puppy  when  Thema  has  a  litter. 
In  such  wise  Jacob  looked  to  Jesus  and  Thema  for  future 
fortune,  and  as  he  came  over  the  ridge  and  caught  sight 
of  Jesus  waiting  for  him,  he  said  :  call  up  thy  dogs,  Master, 
lest  they  should  fall  upon  mine  and  upon  me.  Gorbotha 
has  already  risen  to  his  feet  and  Thema  growling. 

Jesus  laid  his  staff  across  their  backs.  What,  will  ye 
attack  Jacob,  he  cried,  and  what  be  your  quarrel  with  his 
dogs .?  Poor  Syrian  dogs,  Jacob  answered,  that  would  be 
quickly  killed  by  thine.     If  I  had  had  dogs  like  Gorbotha 

and  Thema  the  wolves  would  not But,  Jacob,  thou 

wouldst  have  lost  thy  dogs  as  well  as  thy  sheep.  What 
stand  could  any  dogs  make  against  a  pack  of  wolves,  and 
a  shepherd  without  dogs  is  like  a  bird  without  wings,  as 
Brother  Amos  used  to  say.  Yes,  that  is  just  it,  Jacob 
replied,  struck  by  the  aptness  of  the  comparison.  Thou 
art  known,  Jesus,  to  be  the  most  foreseeing  shepherd  on 
the  hills;  but  the  flock  would  not  have  increased  without 
thy  dogs.  Abdiel  is  great  in  his  knowledge  of  dogs, 
and  he  told  me  that  he  had  never  known  any  like  thine. 
Master.  Come  now,  Thema,  Jesus  cried.  Come,  lie  down 
here;  lay  thy  muzzle  against  my  knee.  And  growl  not 
at  Jacob  or  I'll  send  thee  away.  So  Abdiel  spoke  of  my 
dogs !  They  are  well  enough,  one  can  work  with  them. 
But  I've  had  better  dogs.  Whereupon  Jesus  told  a  story 
how  one  night  he  had  lain  under  a  fair  sky  to  sleep  and 
had  slept  so  soundly  that  the  rain  had  not  wakened  him, 
but  Boreth  —  that  was  the  dog's  name — •  distressed  at  the 
sight  of  me  lying  in  the  rain,  began  to  lick  my  face,  and 
when  I  had  wrung  out  my  cloak  he  led  me  to  a  dry  cave 


358  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

unknown  to  me,  though  I  thought  I  knew  every  one  in 
these  hills.  He  must  have  gone  in  search  of  one  as  soon 
as  it  began  to  rain,  and  when  he  found  a  dry  one  he  came 
back  to  awaken  me.  More  faithful  dogs,  he  said,  there 
never  were  than  these  at  my  feet,  but  I've  known  stronger 
and  fiercer.  But  I'd  tell  thee  another  story  of  Boreth,  and 
he  related  how  one  night  in  December  as  he  watched, 
having  for  his  protection  only  Boreth  (his  other  dogs,  Anos 
and  Torbitt,  being  at  home,  one  with  a  lame  paw,  the  other 
with  puppies),  he  had  fallen  asleep,  though  he  knew 
robbers  were  about  in  the  hills,  especially  in  the  winter 
months,  he  said ;  but  I  knew  I  could  count  on  Boreth  to 
awake  me  if  one  came  to  steal  the  sheep.  Now  what  I'm 
about  to  say,  Jacob,  happened  at  the  time  of  the  great 
rain  of  December,  when  the  nights  are  dark  about  us.  I 
was  sleeping  in  a  sheltered  place  in  the  coign  of  a  clifF, 
the  flock  was  folded  and  Boreth  was  away  upon  his  rounds, 
and  it  was  then  that  two  robbers  stole  into  the  cave.  One 
was  about  to  plunge  his  dagger  into  me,  but  I  had  time 
to  catch  his  wrist  and  to  whistle;  and  in  a  few  seconds 
Boreth  leapt  upon  the  robber  that  was  seeking  to  stab 
me.  He  bit  his  neck  and  shoulder;  and  then,  leaving 
that  robber  disabled,  he  attacked  the  robber's  mate, 
and  it  was  wonderful  how  he  crept  round  and  round  in 
the  darkness,  biting  him  all  the  time,  and  then  pursuing 
the  two  he  worried  them  up  the  valley  until  his  heart 
misgave  him  and  he  thought  it  wouldn't  be  safe  to 
leave  me  alone  any  longer.  But  Gorbotha  would  defend 
thee  against  a  robber,  Jacob  said,  and  he  called  to 
the  dog,  but  Gorbotha  only  growled  at  him.  Have 
patience  with  them,  Jesus  rejoined ;  I'll  not  feed  them 
for  three  days,  and  after  feeding  them  thou'lt  take  them 
to  the  hills,  and  when  they  have  coursed  and  killed  a 
jackal  for  thee  it  may  be  that  they'll  accept  thee  for 
master.     But   these  Thracians    rarely   love   twice.     Come, 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  359 

Jacob,  and  we'll  look  into  thy  flock  of  lambs  and  take 
counsel  together.  They  seem  to  be  doing  fairly  well  with 
thee  —  a  bit  tired,  I  dare  say  thou  hast  come  a  long  way 
with  them.  We  walked  too  fast,  Jacob  answered,  saying 
he  had  had  to  go  farther  than  he  thought  for  in  search  of 
grass,  and  had  found  some  that  was  worth  the  distance 
they  had  journeyed,  for  the  lambs  had  fallen  to  nibbling  at 
once.  Fell  to  nibbling  at  once,  did  they  ?  Jesus  repeated. 
When  they're  folded  with  the  ewes,  thou'lt  put  into  their 
jaws  a  stick  to  keep  them  from  sucking.  And  without 
waiting  for  Jacob  to  answer  he  asked  which  of  all  these 
lambs  he  would  choose  to  keep  for  breeding  from.  Jacob 
pointed  out  first  one  and  then  another;  but  Jesus  shook 
his  head  and  showed  him  a  lamb  which  Jacob  had  not 
cast  his  eyes  over  and  said  :  one  may  not  say  for  certain, 
but  I  shall  be  surprised  if  he  doesn't  come  into  a  fine, 
broad-shouldered  ram,  strong  across  the  loins  and  straight 
on  his  legs,  the  sort  to  get  lambs  that  do  well  on  these 
hills.  And  thou'lt  be  well  advised  to  leave  him  on  his 
dam  another  hundred  days ;  shear  him,  for  it  will  give 
him  strength  to  take  some  wool  from  him,  but  do  not 
take  it  from  his  back,  for  he  will  want  the  wool  there 
to  protect  him  from  the  sun.  And  all  the  first  year  he 
will  skip  about  with  the  ewes  and  jump  upon  them,  but 
it  will  be  only  play,  for  his  time  has  not  yet  come ;  in  two 
more  years  he'll  be  at  his  height,  serving  ten  ewes  a  day ; 
but  keep  him  not  over-long ;  thou  must  always  have  some 
new  rams  preparing,  else  thy  flock  will  decline.  The  ram 
thou  seest  on  the  right  is  old,  and  must  soon  be  replaced. 
But  the  white  ram  yonder  is  still  full  of  service :  a  better 
I've  never  known.  The  white  ram  is  stronger  than  the 
black,  though  the  black  ewe  will  turn  from  him  and  seek  a 
ram  of  her  own  colour.  I've  known  a  white  ram  so  ardent 
for  a  black  ewe  that  he  fought  the  black  ram  till  their  skulls 
cracked.  Master,  it  is  well  to  listen  to  thee,  Jacob  interrupted. 


36o  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

for  none  knows  sheep  like  thee,  but  as  none  will  ever  give 
me  charge  of  a  flock  again,  thy  teaching  is  wasted  upon 
me.  Look  to  the  ewes'  teeth,  Jacob,  and  to  their  udders ; 
see  that  the  udders  are  sound.  Master,  never  before  didst 
thou  mock  at  me,  who  am  for  my  misfortunes  the  mocking- 
stock  of  all  these  fields.  In  what  have  I  done  wrong .? 
That  my  lambs  are  a  bit  tired  is  all  thou  hast  to  blame  me 
for  to-day.  Jacob,  I'm  not  mocking  at  thee,  but  looking 
forward  a  little,  for  time  is  on  thy  side  and  will  soon 
put  thee  in  charge  of  a  flock  again.  Time  is  on  my  side, 
Jacob  repeated.  If  I  understand  thee  rightly.  Master,  thy 
meaning  is,  that  the  hills  are  beginning  to  weary  thee. 
Look  into  my  beard,  Jacob,  and  see  how  much  grey  hair 
is  in  it,  and  my  gait  is  slower  than  it  used  to  be,  a  stiff- 
ness has  come  upon  me  that  will  not  wear  out,  and  my 
eyes  are  not  as  keen  as  they  were,  and  when  I  see  in  thee 
a  wise  shepherd,  between  the  spring  and  autumn,  it  may 
be  that  Hazael,  our  president,  at  my  advice,  will  intrust 
my  flock  to  thy  charge. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

SO  thou  thinkest,  Eliab,  that  the  autumn  rains  will  make 
an  end  of  him.  And  maybe  of  thee  too,  Bozrah,  EHab 
returned.  A  hard  Hfe  ours  is,  even  for  the  young  ones. 
Hard  bread  by  day  and  at  night  a  bed  of  stones,  a  hard 
life  from  the  beginning,  one  that  doesn't  grow  softer,  and 
to  end  in  a  lion's  maw  at  fifty  is  the  best  we  can  hope  for. 
For  us,  perhaps,  Bozrah  answered ;  but  Jesus  will  go  up  to 
the  cenoby  among  the  rocks  and  die  amongst  the  brethren 
reading  the  Scriptures.  If  the  autumn  rains  don't  make  an 
end  of  him,  Eliab  interjected  testily,  as  if  he  did  not  like 
his  forecast  of  Jesus'  death  to  be  called  into  question.  As 
I  was  saying,  a  shepherd's  life  is  a  hard  one,  and  when  the 
autumn  rains  make  an  end  of  him,  the  brethren  will  be  on 
the  look-out  for  another  shepherd,  and  there's  not  one 
amongst  them  that  would  bring  half  the  flock  intrusted  to 
him  into  the  fold  at  the  end  of  the  year.     The  best  of  us 

lose  sheep  :    what  with 

The  flock  will  go  to  Jacob,  the  lad  he's  been  training  to 
follow  him  ever  since  his  friend  was  killed,  Havilah  re- 
marked timidly.  Eliab  and  Bozrah  raised  their  eyes,  and 
looked  at  Havilah  in  surprise,  for  a  sensible  remark  from 
Havilah  was  an  event,  and  to  their  wonder  they  found 
themselves  in  agreement  with  Havilah.  The  flock  would 
go  to  Jacob  without  doubt.  Of  course,  Havilah  cried, 
excited  by  the  success  of  his  last  remark,  he  be  more  than 
fifty.  Thou  mightst  put  five  years  more  to  the  fifty  and  not 
be  far  wrong,  Bozrah  interposed.  Havilah  was  minded  to 
speak  again,  but  his  elders'  looks  made  him  feel  that  they 

361 


362  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

had  heard  him  sufficiently  Now,  Bozrah,  how  many  years 
dost  thou  make  it  since  Joseph  of  Arimathea  was  killed  ? 
How  many  years  ?  Bozrah  repeated.  I  can't  tell  thee  how 
many  years,  but  many  years.  .  .  .  Stay,  I  can  mark  the 
date  down  for  thee.  It  was  about  ten  years  before  Theudas 
(wasn't  that  his  name  ?)  led  the  multitude  over  these  hills. 
A  great  riot  that  was  surely  —  fires  lighted  at  the  side  of 
the  woods  for  the  roasting  of  our  lambs,  and  many's  the 
fine  wood  that  was  turned  to  blackened  stems  and  sad 
ashes  in  those  days.  It  comes  back  to  me  now,  Eliab 
interjected.  Theudas  was  the  name.  I'd  forgotten  it  for 
the  moment.  He  led  the  multitude  to  Jordan,  and  while 
he  was  bidding  the  waters  divide  to  let  him  across  the 
Romans  had  his  head  off.  It  was  nigh  ten  years  before 
that  rioting  Gaddi's  partner  was  killed  in  Jerusalem.  I 
believe  thee  to  be  right,  Bozrah  replied,  and  they  talked 
of  the  different  magicians  and  messiahs  that  were  still 
plaguing  the  country,  stirring  them  up  against  the  Romans. 
But,  cried  Bozrah  suddenly,  the  story  comes  back  to  me. 
Not  getting  any  news  of  his  friend,  Jesus  left  his  flock  with 
Jacob,  and  came  down  to  the  pass  between  the  hills  where 
the  road  descends  to  the  lake  to  inquire  from  the  beggars 
if  they  had  seen  Gaddi's  partner  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem 
or  Jericho,  and  seeing  the  lepers  and  beggars  gathering 
about  Jesus,  I  came  down  to  hear  what  was  being  said, 
but  before  I  got  as  far  I  saw  Jesus  turn  away  and  walk 
into  the  hills.  It  was  from  the  beggars  and  lepers  that 
I  heard  that  Joseph  had  been  killed  in  the  streets  of 
Jerusalem.  Thou  knowest  how  long  beggars  take  to  tell  a 
story ;  Jesus  was  far  away  before  they  got  to  the  end  of  it, 
simple  though  it  was.  I'd  have  gone  after  him  if  they'd 
been  quicker.  More  of  the  story  I  don't  know.  It  was 
just  as  thou  sayest,  mate,  Eliab  answered,  and  thou'lt 
bear  me  out  that  it  was  some  months  after,  maybe  six  or 
seven,   that   Jesus   was    seen    again    leading   the   flock.     I 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  363 

remember  the  day  I  saw  him,  for  wasn't  I  near  to  rubbing 
my  eyes  lest  they  might  be  deceiving  me  —  I  remember, 
Eliab  continued,  it  comes  back  to  me  as  it  does  to  thee, 
for  within  two  years  he  had  gathered  another  handsome 
flock  about  him.  A  fine  shepherd,  Havilah  said.  None 
better  to  be  found  on  the  hills.  Thou  speakest  well, 
Eliab  answered  him,  and  for  thee  to  speak  well  twice 
in  the  same  day  is  well-nigh  a  miracle.  Belike  thou'lt 
awake  one  morning  to  find  thyself  the  Messiah  Israel  is 
waiting  for,  so  great  is  thy  advancement  of  late  in  good 
sense.  Havilah  turned  aside,  and  Eliab,  divining  his 
wounded  spirit,  sought  to  make  amends  by  off'ering  him 
some  bread  and  garlic,  but  Havilah  went  away,  a  melancholy, 
heavy-shouldered  young  man,  one  that,  Eliab  said,  must  feel 
life  cruelly,  knowing  himself  as  he  must  have  done  from 
the  beginning  to  be  what  is  known  as  a  good-for-nothing. 
And  it  was  soon  after  Havilah's  departure  that  Jesus  re- 
turned to  the  shepherds  and,  stopping  in  front  of  Eliab  and 
Bozrah,  he  said  :  I've  come  back,  mates,  to  give  you  my 
thanks  for  many  a  year  of  good-fellowship.  So  the  time 
has  come  for  us  to  lose  thee,  mate,  Eliab  answered.  We 
are  sorry  for  it,  though  it  isn't  altogether  unlooked  for.  We 
were  saying  not  many  moments  ago,  Bozrah  interjected,  that 
the  life  on  the  hills  is  no  life  for  a  man  when  he  has  gone 
fifty,  and  thou'lt  not  see  fifty  again  :  no,  and  not  by  three 
years,  Jesus  answered.  It  was  just  about  fifty  years  that 
the  feeling  began  to  come  over  me  that  I  couldn't  fight 
another  winter,  and  to  think  of  Jacob,  who  is  waiting  for 
a  flock,  and  he  may  as  well  have  mine  during  my  life  as 
wait  for  my  death  to  get  it.  Better  so,  said  EUab, 
whose  wont  it  was  to  strike  his  word  in  whenever  the 
speaker  paused  for  his.  He  did  not  always  wait  for  the 
speaker  to  pause,  and  this  trick  being  known  to  Bozrah, 
he  said,  and  by  all  accounts  thou  hast  made  a  true 
shepherd  of  him,   passing  over  to  him  all  thy  knowledge. 


364  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

A  lad  of  good  report,  Jesus  answered,  who  had  fallen  on 
a  hard  master,  a  thing  that  has  happened  to  all  of  us  in 
our  time,  Bozrah  interjected.  He's  not  the  first  that 
fell  out  of  favour,  for  that  his  ewes  hadn't  given  as 
many  lambs  as  they  might  have  done.  Nor  was  there 
anything  of  neglect  in  it,  but  such  a  bit  of  ill  luck  as  might 
run  into  any  man  or  any  man  might  run  up  against.  He 
was  told,  said  Eliab,  who  could  not  bear  anyone  to  tell 
a  story  but  himself,  that  though  he  were  to  bring  the  parts 
of  the  sheep  the  wolf  had  left  behind  to  his  master  he  would 
have  to  seek  another  master.  Such  severity  frightens 
the  shepherd,  and  the  wolf  smells  out  the  frightened 
shepherd,  Jesus  said,  and  he  told  his  mates  that  he  had 
not  found  Jacob  lacking  in  truthfulness  nor  in  natural  dis- 
cernment, and  he  asked  them  to  give  all  their  protection 
to  Jacob,  who  will,  he  said,  go  forth  in  charge  of  our  flock 
to-morrow. 

The  shepherds  said  again  that  they  were  sorry  to  lose 
Jesus,  and  that  the  hills  would  not  seem  like  the  hills 
without  him,  and  Jesus  answered  that  he,  too,  would  be 
lonely  among  the  brethren  reading  the  Scriptures.  When 
one  is  used  to  sheep  one  misses  them  sorely,  Eliab  said, 
there's  always  something  to  learn  from  them ;  and  he 
began  to  tell  a  story;  but  before  he  had  come  to  the  end 
of  it  Jesus'  thoughts  took  leave  of  the  story  he  was 
listening  to,  and  he  turned  away,  leaving  the  shepherd 
with  his  half-finished  story,  and  walked  absorbed  in  his 
thoughts,  immersed  in  his  own  mind,  till  he  had  reached 
the  crest  of  the  next  hill  and  was  within  some  hundred 
yards  of  the  brook.  It  was  then  that  he  remembered  he 
had  left  them  abruptly  in  the  middle  of  a  half-finished 
relation,  and  he  stopped  to  consider  if  he  should  return  to 
them  and  ask  for  the  end  of  the  story.  But  fearing  they 
would  think  he  was  making  a  mocking-stock  of  them,  he 
sighed,  and  was  vexed  that  they  had  parted  on  a  seeming 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  365 

lack  of  courtesy :  on  no  seeming  lack,  on  a  very  clear 
lack,  he  said  to  himself;  but  it  would  be  useless  to  return 
to  them ;  they  would  not  understand,  and  a  man  had 
always  better  return  to  his  own  thoughts.  Repent, 
repent,  he  said,  picking  up  the  thread  of  his  thoughts,  but 
acknowledgment  comes  before  repentance,  and  of  what 
help  will  repentance  be,  for  repentance  changes  nothing, 
it  brings  nothing  unless  grief  peradventure.  I  was  in  the 
hands  of  God  then  just  as  I  am  now,  and  everything 
within  and  without  us  is  in  his  hands.  The  things  that 
we  look  upon  as  evil  and  the  things  that  we  look  upon  as 
good.  Our  sight  is  not  his  sight,  our  hearing  is  not  his 
hearing,  we  must  despise  nothing,  for  all  things  come 
from  him,  and  return  to  him.  I  used,  he  said,  to  despise 
the  air  I  breathed,  and  long  for  the  airs  of  paradise,  but 
what  did  these  longings  bring  me  ?  —  grief.  God  bade  us 
live  on  earth  and  we  bring  unhappiness  upon  ourselves  by 
desiring  heaven.  Jesus  stopped,  and  looking  through  the 
blue  air  of  evening,  he  could  see  the  shepherds  eating 
their  bread  and  garlic  on  the  hillside.  Folding-time  is 
near,  he  said  to  himself,  but  I  shall  never  fold  a  flock 
again.  .  .  . 

His  thoughts  began  again,  flowing  like  a  wind,  as 
mysteriously,  arising  he  knew  not  whence,  nor  how,  his 
mind  holding  him  as  fast  as  if  he  were  in  chains,  and  he 
heard  from  within  that  he  had  passed  through  two  stages 
—  the  first  was  in  Jerusalem,  when  he  preached  against 
the  priests  and  their  sacrifices.  God  does  not  desire  the 
blood  of  sheep,  but  our  love,  and  all  ritual  comes  between 
us  and  God  .  .  .  God  is  in  the  heart,  he  had  said,  and  he 
had  spoken  as  truly  as  a  man  may  speak  of  the  journey 
that  lies  before  him  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day. 

In  the  desert  he  had  looked  for  God  in  the  flowers 
that  the  sun  called  forth  and  in  the  clouds  that  the 
wind    shepherded,    and    he   had    learnt   to   prize   the   earth 


366  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

and  live  content  among  his  sheep,  all  things  being  the 
gift  of  God  and  his  holy  will.  He  had  not  placed  himself 
above  the  flowers  and  grasses  of  the  earth,  nor  the  sheep 
that  fed  upon  them,  nor  above  the  men  that  fed  upon 
the  sheep.  He  had  striven  against  the  memory  of  his 
sin,  he  had  desired  only  one  thing,  to  acknowledge  his 
sin,  and  to  repent.  But  it  seemed  to  him  that  anger  and 
shame  and  sorrow,  and  desire  of  repentance  had  dropped 
out  of  his  heart.  It  seemed  to  him  as  he  turned  and 
pursued  his  way  that  some  new  thought  was  striving  to 
speak  through  him.  Rites  and  observances,  all  that 
comes  under  the  name  of  religion,  estranges  us  from  God, 
he  repeated.  God  is  not  here,  nor  there,  but  everywhere : 
in  the  flower,  and  in  the  star,  and  in  the  earth  underfoot. 
He  has  often  been  at  my  elbow,  God  or  this  vast 
Providence  that  upholds  the  work ;  but  shall  we  gather 
the  universal  will  into  an  image  and  call  it  God  ?  —  for  by 
doing  this  do  we  not  drift  back  to  the  starting-point  of 
all  our  misery  ?  We  again  become  the  dupes  of  illusion 
and  desire;  God  and  his  heaven  are  our  old  enemies  in 
disguise.  He  who  yields  himself  to  God  goes  forth  to 
persuade  others  to  love  God,  and  very  soon  his  love  of 
God  impels  him  to  violent  words  and  cruel  deeds.  It 
cannot  be  else,  for  God  is  but  desire,  and  whosoever  yields 
to  desire  falls  into  sin.  To  be  without  sin  we  must  be 
without  God. 

Jesus  stood  before  the  door  of  the  cenoby,  startled  at 
the  thoughts  that  had  been  put  into  his  mind,  asking  him- 
self if  any  man  had  dared  to  ask  himself  if  God  were  not 
indeed  the  last  uncleanliness  of  the  mind. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

IF  thou  wouldst  not  miss  Mathias'  discourse,  Brother 
Jesus,  thou  must  hasten  thy  steps.  He  is  telling  that  the 
Scriptures  are  but  allegories.     Some  of  us  are  opposed  to 

this  view,   believing  that  Adam    and    Eve   are Yea, 

brother,  and  my  thanks  to  thee  for  thy  admonishment, 
Jesus  said,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  discredit  Mathias' 
reputation  for  theological  argument;  but  no  sooner  was  he 
out  of  sight  of  the  gate-keeper  than  he  began  to  examine 
the  great  rock  that  Joseph  had  predicted  would  one  day 
come  crashing  down,  and,  being  no  wise  in  a  hurry,  fell  to 
wondering  how  much  of  the  mountain-side  it  would  bring 
with  it  when  it  fell.  At  present  it  projected  over  the 
pathway  for  several  yards,  making  an  excellent  store- 
house, and,  his  thoughts  suspended  between  the  discus- 
sion that  was  proceeding  regarding  Adam  and  Eve  — 
whether  the  original  twain  had  ever  lived  or  were  but 
allegories  (themselves  and  their  garden)  —  he  began  to 
consider  if  the  brethren  had  laid  in  a  sufficient  stock  of 
firewood,  and  how  long  it  would  take  him  to  chop  it  into 
pieces  handy  for  burning.  He  would  be  glad  to  relieve 
the  brethren  from  all  such  humble  work,  and  for  taking 
it  upon  himself  he  would  be  able  to  plead  an  excuse 
for  absenting  himself  from  Mathias'  discourses.  Hazael 
would  not  refuse  to  assign  to  him  the  task  of  feeding  the 
doves  and  the  cleaning  out  of  their  coops ;  he  would  find 
occupation  among  the  vines  and  fig-trees  —  he  was  some- 
thing of  a  gardener  —  and  Hazael  would  not  refuse  him 
permission  to  return  to  the   hills  to  see  that  all  was  well 

367 


368  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

with  the  flocks.  Jacob  will  need  to  be  looked  after;  and 
there  are  the  dogs ;  and  if  they  cannot  be  brought  to  look 
upon  Jacob  as  master  their  lives  will  be  wasted,  he  said. 

I  seem  to  read  supper  in  their  eyes,  he  said,  and  having 
tied  them  up  supperless  he  visited  the  bitch  and  her  puppies. 
Brother  Ozias  hasn't;  forgotten  to  feed  her.  There  is  some 
food  still  in  the  platter.  But  they  must  submit,  he  con- 
tinued, his  thoughts  having  returned  to  his  dogs,  Theusa 
and  Tharsa,  and  then  he  stood  listening,  for  he  could  hear 
Mathias'  voice.  The  door  of  the  lecture-room  is  closed ;  if 
I  step  softly  none  will  know  that  I  have  returned  from  the 
hills,  and  I  can  sit  unsuspected  on  the  balcony  till  Mathias' 
allegories  are  ended,  and  watching  the  evening  descending 
on  the  cliflF  it  may  be  that  I  shall  be  able  to  examine  the 
thoughts  that  assailed  me  as  I  ascended  the  hillside; 
whether  we  pursue  a  corruptible  or  an  incorruptible  crown 
the  end  is  the  same,  he  said.  It  was  not  enough  for  me 
to  love  God,  I  must  needs  ask  others  to  worship  him,  at 
first  with  words  of  love,  and  when  love  failed  I  threatened, 
I  raved ;  and  the  sin  I  fell  into  others  will  fall  into,  for  it 
is  natural  to  man  to  wish  to  make  his  brother  like  himself, 
thereby  undoing  the  work  of  God.  Myself  am  no  paragon ; 
I  condemned  the  priests  whilst  setting  myself  up  as  a 
priest,  and  spoke  of  God  and  the  will  of  God,  though  in 
all  truth  I  had  very  little  more  reason  than  they  to  speak 
of  these  things.  God  has  not  created  us  to  know  him,  or 
only  partially  through  our  consciousness  of  good  and  evil. 
Good  and  evil  do  not  exist  in  God's  eyes  as  in  our  eyes, 
for  he  is  the  author  of  all,  but  it  may  be  that  our  sense 
of  good  and  evil  was  given  to  us  by  him  as  a  token  of  our 
divine  nature.  If  this  be  true,  why  should  we  puzzle  and 
fret  ourselves  with  distinctions,  like  Mathias  ?  It  were 
better  to  leave  the  mystery  and  attend  to  this  life,  casting 
out  desire  to  know  what  God  is  or  what  nature  is,  as  well 
as   desire   for   particular   things   in   this   world   which   long 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  369 

ago  I  told  men  to  disregard.  ...  A  flight  of  doves  dis- 
tracted his  attention,  and  a  moment  after  the  door  of  the 
lecture-room  opened  and  Saddoc  and  Manahem  appeared, 
carrying  somebody  dead  or  who  had  fainted.  As  they  came 
across  the  domed  gallery  towards  the  embrasure  Jesus 
heard  Manahem  say :  he  will  return  to  himself  as  soon  as 
we  get  him  into  the  air.  And  they  placed  him  where  Jesus 
had  been  sitting.  A  little  water,  Saddoc  cried,  and  Jesus 
ran  to  the  well,  and  returning  with  a  cup  of  water  he  stood 
by  sprinkling  the  worn,  grey  face.  The  heat  overcame  me, 
he  murmured,  but  I  shall  soon  be  well  and  then  you  will 

bear  me  back  to  hear The  sentence  did   not  finish, 

and  Jesus  said  :  thou'lt  be  better  here  with  me,  Hazael, 
than  listening  to  discourses  that  fatigue  the  mind.  Mathias 
is  very  insistent,  Manahem  muttered.  He  is  indeed, 
Saddoc  answered.  And  while  Jesus  sat  by  Hazael,  fearing 
that  his  life  might  go  out  at  any  moment,  Manahem  re- 
proved Saddoc,  saying  that  whereas  duty  is  the  cause  of 
all  good,  we  have  only  to  look  beyond  our  own  doors  to  see 
evil  everywhere.  Even  so,  Saddoc  answered,  what  wouldst 
thou  ?  That  the  world,  Manahem  answered,  was  created 
by  good  and  evil  angels.  Whereupon  Saddoc  asked  him 
if  he  numbered  Lilith,  Adam's  first  wife,  among  the  evil 
angels.  A  question  Manahem  did  not  answer,  and,  being 
eager  to  tell  the  story,  he  turned  to  Jesus,  who  he  guessed 
did  not  know  it,  and  began  at  once  to  tell  it,  after  warning 
Jesus  that  it  was  among  their  oldest  stories,  though  not 
to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures.  She  must  be  numbered 
among  the  evil  angels,  he  said,  remembering  that  Saddoc 
had  put  the  question  to  him,  for  she  rebuked  Adam,  who  took 
great  delight  in  her  hair,  combing  it  for  his  pleasure  from 
morn  to  eve  in  the  garden,  and  left  him,  saying  she  could 
abide  him  no  longer.  At  which  words,  Jesus,  Adam 
sorrowed,  and  his  grief  was  such  that  God  heard  his  sighs 
and  asked  him  for  what  he  was  grieving,  and  he  said  :    I 

2B 


370  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

live  in  great  loneliness,  for  Lilith,  O  Lord,  has  left  me, 
and  I  beg  thee  to  send  messengers  who  will  bring  her 
back.  Whereupon  God  took  pity  on  his  servant  Adam 
and  bade  his  three  angels  Raphael,  Gabriel  and  Michael, 
to  go  away  at  once  in  search  of  Lilith,  whom  they  found 
flying  over  the  sea,  and  her  answer  to  them  was  that  her 
pleasure  was  now  in  flying,  and  for  that  reason  I  will  not 
return  to  Adam,  she  said.  Is  that  the  answer  we  are  to 
bring  back  to  God  ?  they  asked.  I  have  no  other  answer 
for  him,  she  answered,  being  in  a  humour  in  which  it  pleased 
her  to  anger  God,  and  the  anger  that  her  words  put  upon 
him  was  so  great  that  to  punish  her  he  set  himself  to 
the  creation  of  a  lovely  companion  for  Adam.  Be  thou 
lonely  no  more,  he  said  to  Adam.  See,  I  have  given 
Eve  to  thee.  Adam  was  never  lonely  again,  but  walked 
through  a  beautiful  garden,  enjoying  Eve's  beauty 
unceasingly,  happy  as  the  day  was  long,  till  tidings  of 
their  happiness  reached  Lilith,  who  by  that  time  had 
grown  weary  of  flying  from  sea  to  sea  :  I  will  make  an 
end  of  it,  she  said,  and  descending  circle  by  circle  she 
went  about  seeking  the  garden,  which  she  found  at  last, 
but  failing  to  find  the  gate  or  any  gap  in  the  walls  she  sat 
down  and  began  combing  her  hair.  Nor  was  she  long 
combing  it  before  Lucifer,  attracted  by  the  rustling,  came 
by,  saying :  I  would  be  taken  captive  in  the  net  thou 
weavest  with  thy  hair,  and  she  answered  :  not  yet ;  for  my 
business  is  in  yon  garden,  but  into  it  I  can  find  no  way. 
Wilt  lend  me  thy  sinewy  shape,  Lucifer  ?  for  in  it  I  shall  be 
able  to  glide  over  the  walls  and  coil  myself  into  the  tree 
of  forbidden  fruit,  and  I  shall  persuade  Eve  as  she  passes 
to  eat  of  it,  for  it  will  be  to  her  great  detriment  to  do  so. 
But  of  what  good  will  that  be  to  me  ?  Lucifer  answered, 
wouldst  thou  leave  me  without  a  shape  whilst  thou  art 
tempting  Eve  ?  Thy  reward  will  be  that  I  will  come  to  thee 
again  when  I  have  tempted  Eve  and  made  an  end  of  her 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  371 

happiness.  We  shall  repeople  the  world  with  sons  and 
daughters  more  bright  and  beautiful  and  more  supple  than 
any  that  have  ever  been  seen  yet.  All  the  same,  Lucifer 
answered,  not  liking  to  part  with  his  shape.  But  as  his 
desire  could  not  be  gainsaid,  he  lent  his  shape  to  Lilith 
for  an  hour.  And  it  was  in  that  hour  our  first  parents 
fell  into  sin,  and  were  chased  from  the  garden.  Did 
she  return  to  Lucifer  and  fulfil  her  promise  or  did  she 
cheat  him  ?  Saddoc  asked.  As  Manahem  was  about  to 
answer  Saddoc  intervened  again :  Manahem,  thou  over- 
lookest  the  fact  that  Mathias  holds  that  the  Garden  of 
Eden  and  Adam  and  Eve,  to  say  nothing  of  Lilith,  are  a 
parable,  and  his  reason  for  thinking  thus  is,  as  thou  knowest 
well,  that  the  Scriptures  tell  us  that  after  eating  of  the 
forbidden  fruit  Adam  and  Eve  sought  to  hide  themselves 
from  God  among  the  trees. 

He  holds  as  thou  sayest,  Saddoc,  that  the  garden  means 
the  mind  of  man  as  an  individual ;  and  he  who  would 
escape  from  God  flees  from  himself,  for  our  lives  are  swayed 
between  two  powers :  the  mind  of  the  universe,  which  is 
God,  and  the  separate  mind  of  the  individual.  Then,  if 
I  understand  thee  rightly,  Manahem,  and  thy  master, 
Mathias,  the  Scriptures  melt  into  imagery .''  What  says 
Jesus  ^  This,  Saddoc,  that  it  was  with  such  subtleties  of 
discourse  and  lengthy  periods  that  Mathias  fatigued  our 
Father  till  he  fainted  away  in  his  chair.  Jesus  is  right, 
Manahem  answered ;  it  was  certainly  Mathias'  discourse 
that  fatigued  our  Father,  so  why  should  we  prolong  the 
argument  in  his  face  while  he  is  coming  back  to  life  I 

It  was  not  the  length  of  Mathias'  discourse,  nor  his 
eloquence,  Hazael  said,  that  caused  my  senses  to  swoon 
away.  My  age  will  not  permit  me  to  listen  long.  I 
would  be  with  Jesus,  and  I  would  that  ye,  Saddoc  and 
Manahem,  return  to  the  lecture-room  at  once,  else  our 
brother  will  think  his  discourse  has  failed.     Jesus  is  here 


372  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

to  give  the  attendance  I  require.  Go,  hasten,  lest  ye  miss 
any  of  his  points.  The  brethren  were  about  to  raise  a 
protest,  but  at  a  sign  from  Jesus  they  obeyed ;  Mathias' 
voice  was  heard  as  soon  as  the  door  of  the  lecture-room 
was  opened,  but  the  brethren  did  not  forget  to  close  it, 
and  when  silence  came  again  Hazael  said :  Jesus,  come 
hither,  sit  near  me,  for  I  would  speak  to  thee,  but  cannot 
raise  my  voice.  Thou' It  sleep  here  to-night,  and  to-morrow 
we  shall  meet  again.  And  this  is  well,  for  my  days  are 
numbered.  I  shall  not  be  here  to  see  next  year's  lambs 
and  to  agree  that  this  new  shepherd  shall  be  recom- 
pensed by  a  gift  of  eighteen,  as  is  the  custom.  And 
Jesus,  understanding  that  the  president  was  prophesying 
his  own  death,  said  :  why  speakest  like  this  to  me  who  have 
returned  from  the  hills  to  strangers,  for  all  are  strangers  to 
me  but  thou.  I  shall  be  sorry  to  leave  thee,  Jesus,  for  our 
lives  have  been  twisted  together,  strands  of  the  same  rope. 
But  it  must  be  plain  to  thee  that  I  am  growing  weaker; 
month  by  month,  week  by  week,  my  strength  is  ebbing. 
I  am  going  out;  but  for  what  reason  should  I  lament  that 
God  has  not  chosen  to  retain  me  a  few  months  longer, 
since  my  life  cannot  be  prolonged  for  more  than  a  few 
months  ?  My  eighty  odd  years  have  left  me  with  barely 
strength  enough  to  sit  in  the  doorway  looking  back  on 
the  way  I  have  come.  Every  day  the  things  of  this  world 
grow  fainter,  and  life  becomes  to  me  an  unreal  thing,  and 
myself  becomes  unreal  to  those  around  me;  only  to  thee 
do  I  retain  anything  of  my  vanished  self.  So  why  should 
I  remain  ?  For  thy  sake,  lest  thou  be  lonely  here  ?  Well, 
that  is  reason  enough,  and  I  will  bear  the  burden  of  life 
as  well  as  I  can  for  thy  sake.  A  burden  it  is,  and  for  a 
reason  that  thou  mayest  not  divine,  for  thou  art  still 
a  young  man  in  my  eyes,  and,  moreover,  hast  not  lived 
under  a  roof  for  many  years  listening  to  learned  inter- 
pretations of  Scripture.     Thou  hast  not  guessed,  nor  wilt 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  373 

thou  ever  guess,  till  age  reveals  it  to  thee,  that  as  we  grow 
old  we  no  longer  concern  ourselves  to  love  God  as  we  used 
to  love  him.  No  one  would  have  thought,  not  even  thou, 
whose  mind  is  always  occupied  with  God,  and  who  is  more 
conscious  of  him  perhaps  than  any  one  I  have  known, 
no  one,  I  say,  not  even  thou,  would  have  thought  that  as 
we  approach  death  our  love  of  God  should  grow  weaker, 
but  this  is  so.  In  great  age  nothing  seems  to  matter,  and 
it  is  this  indifference  that  I  wish  to  escape  from.  Thou 
goest  forth  in  the  morning  to  lead  thy  flock  in  search  of 
pasture,  if  need  be  many  hours,  and  God  is  nearer  to  us 
in  the  wilderness  than  he  is  among  men.  This  meaning, 
Jesus  said,  that  under  this  roof  I,  too,  may  cease  to  love 
God  ?  Not  cease  to  love  God  :  one  doesn't  cease  to  love 
God,  Hazael  answered.  But,  Hazael,  this  night  I've 
yielded  up  the  flocks  to  a  new  shepherd,  for  my  limbs 
have  grown  weary,  and  what  thou  tellest  me  of  old  age 
frightens   me.     Thou  wouldst  warn   me  that  God   is  only 

loved  on  the  hills  under  the  sky I  am  too  weak  to 

choose  my  thoughts  or  my  words,  and  many  things  pass 
out  of  my  mind,  Hazael  answered.  Had  I  remembered 
I  shouldn't  have  spoken.  But  why  not  speak.  Father  ? 
Jesus  asked,  so  that  I  may  be  prepared  in  a  measure  for 
the  new  life  that  awaits  me.  Life  never  comes  twice 
in  the  same  way,  Hazael  replied ;  nor  do  the  same  things 
befall  any  two  men.  I  know  not  what  may  befall  thee : 
but  the  sky,  Jesus,  will  always  be  before  thine  eyes 
and  the  green  fields  under  thy  feet,  even  while  listening 
to  Mathias.  But  thou  didst  live  once  under  the  sky,  Jesus 
said.  Not  long  enough,  Hazael  murmured,  but  the  love  of 
God  was  ardent  in  me  when  I  walked  by  day  and  night, 
sleeping  under  the  stars,  seeking  young  men  who  could 
give  up  their  lives  to  the  love  of  God  and  bringing  them 
back  hither  into  the  fold  of  the  Essenes.  In  those  days 
there  was  little  else  in  me  but  love  of  God,  and  I  could 


374  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

walk  from  dusk  to  dusk  without  wearying;  twelve  and 
fifteen  hours  were  not  too  many  for  my  feet :  my  feet 
bounded  along  the  road  while  my  eyes  followed  white 
clouds  moving  over  the  sky;  I  dreamed  of  them  as  God's 
palaces,  and  I  saw  God  not  only  in  the  clouds  but  in  the 
grass,  and  in  the  fields,  and  the  flower  that  covers  the 
fields.  I  read  God  in  the  air  and  in  the  waters :  and  in 
every  town  in  Palestine  I  sought  out  those  that  loved  God 
and  those  that  could  learn  to  love  God.  I  could  walk  well 
in  those  days,  fifteen  hours  were  less  than  as  many 
minutes  ace  now.  I  have  walked  from  Jerusalem  to  Joppa 
in  one  day,  and  the  night  that  I  met  thy  father  outside 
Nazareth  I  had  walked  twelve  hours,  though  I  had  been 
delayed  in  the  morning :  eight  hours  before  midday,  and 
after  a  rest  in  the  wood  I  went  on  again  for  several 
hours  more,  how  many  I  do  not  know,  I've  forgotten.  I 
did  not  know  the  distance  that  I  had  walked  till  I  met 
thy  father  coming  home  from  his  work,  his  tools  in  the 
bag  upon  his  shoulder.  His  voice  is  still  in  my  ear. 
But  if  it  be  to  Nazareth  thou'rt  going,  come  along  with 
me,  he  said.  And  I  can  still  hear  ourselves  talking, 
myself  asking  him  to  direct  me  to  a  lodging,  and  his 
answering :  there's  a  house  in  the  village  where  thou'lt 
get  one,  and  I'll  lead  thee  to  it.  But  all  the  beds  in  that 
house  were  full ;  we  knocked  at  other  inns,  but  the  men 
and  women  and  children  in  them  were  asleep  and  not  to 
be  roused ;  and  if  by  chance  our  knocking  awakened  some- 
body we  were  bidden  away  with  threats  that  the  dogs 
would  be  loosed  upon  us.  Nazareth  looks  not  kindly  on 
the  wayfarer  to-night,  I  said.  Yet  it  shall  not  be  said 
that  a  stranger  had  to  sleep  in  the  streets  of  Nazareth, 
were  thy  father's  very  words  to  me,  Jesus.  Come  to 
my  house,  he  said,  though  it  be  small  and  we  have  to 
put  somebody  out  of  his  bed,  it  will  be  better  than  that 
our  town  should  gain  evil  repute.     Thou  canst  not  have 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  375 

forgotten  me  coming,  for  thy  father  shook  thee  out  of  thy 
sleep  and  told  thee  that  he  wanted  thy  bed  for  a  stranger. 
I  can  see  thee  still  standing  before  me  in  thy  shift,  and 
though  the  hours  I'd  travelled  had  gone  down  into  my  very 
marrow,  and  sleep  was  heavy  upon  my  eyes,  yet  a  freshness 
came  upon  me  as  of  the  dawn  when  I  looked  on  thee,  and 
my  heart  told  me  that  I  had  found  one  that  would  do  honour 
to  the  Essenes,  and  love  God  more  than  any  I  had  ever  met 
with  yet.  But  I  think  I  hear  thee  weeping,  Jesus.  Now, 
for  what  art  thou  weeping  ?  There  is  nothing  sad  in  the 
story,  only  that  it  is  a  long  time  ago.  Our  speech  next 
day  still  rings  in  my  ear  —  my  telling  thee  of  the  Pharisees 
that  merely  minded  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  of  the  Saddu- 
cees  that  said  there  was  no  life  outside  this  world  except  for 
angels.  It  is  well  indeed  that  I  remember  our  two  selves 
sitting  by  the  door  on  two  stools  set  under  a  vine,  and 
it  throwing  pretty  patterns  of  shadow  on  the  pave- 
ment whilst  we  talked  —  whilst  I  talked  to  thee  of  the 
brethren,  who  lived  down  by  the  Bitter  Lake,  no  one 
owning  anything  more  than  his  fellow,  so  that  none  might 
be  distracted  from  God  by  the  pleasures  of  this  world. 
I  can  see  clearly  through  the  years  thy  face  expectant, 
and  Nazareth  —  the  deeply  rutted  streets  and  the  hills 
above. 

The  days  that  we  walked  in  Nazareth  are  pleasant 
memories,  for  I  could  never  tell  thee  enough  about  the 
Essenes :  their  contempt  of  riches,  and  that  if  there  were 
one  among  them  who  had  more  than  another,  on  entering 
the  order  he  willingly  shared  it.  We  were  among  the 
hills  the  day  that  I  told  thee  about  the  baker;  how  he 
put  a  platter  with  a  loaf  on  it  before  each  of  the  brethren, 
how  they  broke  bread,  deeming  the  meal  sacred,  and  it 
was  the  next  day  that  we- bade  farewell  to  thy  father 
and  thy  mother  and  started  on  our  journey;  a  long  way, 
but  one  that  did  not  seem  long  to  us,   so  engaged  were 


376  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

we  with  our  hopes.  It  was  with  me  thou  sawest  Jeru- 
salem for  the  first  time;  and  I  remember  telling  thee 
as  we  journeyed  by  the  Jordan  seeking  a  ford  that  the 
Essenes  looked  upon  oil  as  a  defilement,  and  if  any  one 
of  them  be  anointed  without  his  approbation  it  is  wiped 
ofF,  for  we  think  to  be  sweaty  is  a  good  thing,  and  to  be 
clothed  in  white  garments,  and  never  to  change  these  till 
they  be  torn  to  pieces  or  worn  out  by  time. 

And  of  the  little  band  that  came  with  us  that  day  from 
Galilee  there  remain  Saddoc,  Manahem  and  thyself.  All 
of  you  learnt  from  me  on  the  journey  that  we  laboured 
till  the  fifth  hour  and  then  assembled  together  again 
clothed  in  white  veils,  after  having  bathed  our  bodies  in 
cold  water.  But,  Jesus,  why  this  grief.?  Because  I  am 
going  from  thee  ?  But,  dear  friend,  to  come  and  to  go 
is  the  law  of  life,  and  it  may  be  that  I  shall  be  with  thee 
longer  than  thou  thinkest  for;  eighty  odd  years  may 
be  lengthened  into  ninety :  the  patriarchs  lived  till  a 
hundred  and  more  years,  and  we  believe  that  the  soul  out- 
lives the  body.  Out  of  the  chrysalis  we  escape  from  our 
corruptible  bodies,  and  the  beautiful  butterfly  flutters 
Godward.  Grieve  for  me  a  little  when  I  am  gone,  but 
grieve  not  before  I  go,  for  I  would  see  thy  face  always 
happy,  as  I  remember  it  in  those  years  long  ago  in 
Nazareth.  Jesus,  Jesus,  thou  shouldst  not  weep  like 
this !  None  should  weep  but  for  sin,  and  thy  life  is 
known  to  me  from  the  day  in  Nazareth  when  we  sat 
in  the  street  together  to  the  day  that  thou  wentest  to  the 
Jordan  to  get  baptism  from  John. 

Ah  !  that  day  was  the  only  day  that  my  words  were 
unheeded.  But  I  am  saying  things  that  would  seem  to 
wound  thee,  and  for  why  I  know  not !  Tell  me  if  my 
words  wound  or  call  up  painful  memories.  Thy  suff'ering 
is  forgotten,  or  should  be,  for  if  ever  any  man  merited 
love  and  admiration  for  a  sincere  and  holy  life  thou 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  377 

I  beg  of  thee,  Father,  not  to  say  another  word,  for  none 
is  less  worthy  than  I  am.  The  greatest  sinner  amongst 
us  is  sitting  by  thee,  one  that  has  not  dared  to  tell  his  secret 
to  thee.  .  .  .  The  memory  of  my  sin  has  fed  upon  me 
and  grown  stronger,  becoming  a  devil  within  me,  but 
till  now  I  have  lacked  courage  to  come  to  thee  and  ask 
thee  to  cast  it  out.  But  now  since  thou  art  going  from 
us  this  year  or  the  next,  I  wouldn't  let  thee  go  without 
telling  it;  to  none  may  I  tell  it  but  to  thee,  for  none  else 
would  understand  it.  I  am  listening,  Jesus,  Hazael 
answered. 

The  mutter  of  the  water  in  the  valley  below  them 
arose  and  grew  louder  in  the  silence ;  as  Jesus  prepared 
to  speak  his  secret  the  doors  of  the  lecture-room  opened 
and  the  monks  came  out  singing : 

In  the  Lord  I  put  my  trust; 

Now  say  ye  to  my  soul :   Flee 

As  a  bird  to  your  mountain. 

For  lo  !   the  wicked  bend  their 

Bow,  they  make  ready  their  arrow 

Upon  the  string,  that  they  may  privily 

Shoot  at  the  upright  in  heart. 

If  the  foundations  be  destroyed  what 

Can  the  righteous  do  ? 

For  the  righteous  Lord  loveth 

Righteousness ;    his  countenance 

Doth  behold  the  upright. 

The  words  of  the  psalm  are  intended  for  me,  Jesus 
whispered,  and  now  that  the  brethren  are  here  I  may 
not  speak,  but  to-morrow There  may  be  no  to- 
morrow for  us,  the  president  answered.  Even  so,  Jesus 
answered,  I  cannot  speak  to-night.  It  is  as  if  I  were 
bidden  to  withhold  my  secret  till  to-morrow.  We  know 
not  why  we  speak  or  why  we  are  silent,  but  silence  has 


378  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

been  put  upon  me  by  the  words  of  the  psalm.  Be  it  so, 
the  president  answered,  and  he  was  helped  by  Saddoc 
and  Manahem  to  his  feet.  Our  Brother  Jesus,  he  said, 
has  given  over  the  charge  of  our  flocks  to  a  young 
shepherd  in  whom  he  has  confidence,  and  Jesus  sleeps 
under  a  roof  to-night,  the  first  for  many  years,  for,  like 
us,  he  is  getting  older,  and  the  rains  and  blasts  of  last 
winter  have  gone  into  his  bones.  All  the  cells.  Father, 
Saddoc  replied,  are  filled.  I  know  that  well,  Saddoc, 
Hazael  said  as  he  went  out;  Jesus  can  sleep  here  on  these 
benches;  a  mattress  and  a  cloak  will  be  sufficient  for  him 
who  has  slept  in  caverns,  or  in  valleys  on  heaps  of  stones 
that  he  piled  so  that  he  might  not  drown  in  the  rains. 
Manahem  will  get  thee  a  mattress,  Jesus;  he  knows  where 
to  find  one.  I  am  strong  enough  to  walk  alone,  Saddoc. 
And  disengaging  himself  from  Saddoc's  arm  he  walked 
with  the  monks  towards  his  cell,  joining  them  in  the  psalm  : 

All  the  powers  of  the  Lord 
Bless  ye  the  Lord ;   praise  and 
Exalt  him  above  all  for  ever. 

As  the  doors  of  the  cell  closed  Saddoc  approached 
Jesus,  and,  breaking  his  reverie,  he  said :  thou  hast  re- 
turned to  us  at  last;  and  it  was  not  too  soon,  for  the 
winter  rains  are  cold  on  bones  as  old  as  thine.  But  here 
comes  Manahem  with  a  mattress  for  thee.  On  the  bench 
here,  Manahem;  on  the  bench  he'll  lie  comfortably,  and 
we'll  get  him  a  covering,  for  the  nights  are  often  chilly 
though  the  days  be  hot,  we  must  try  to  make  a  com- 
fortable resting-place  for  him  that  has  guarded  our  flocks 
these  long  years.  Wilt  tell  us  if  thou  beest  glad  to  yield 
thy  flock  to  Jacob  and  if  he  will  sell  ewes  and  rams  to  the 
Temple  for  sacrifice  ?  Ask  me  not  any  questions  to- 
night. Brother  Saddoc,  for  I'm  troubled  in  mind.  Forgive 
me  my  question,  Jesus,  Saddoc  answered,  and  the  three 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  379 

Essenes,  leaning  over  the  edge  of  the  gorge,  stood  listening 
to  the  mutter  of  the  brook.  At  last,  to  break  the  silence 
that  the  brook  rumpled  without  breaking,  Jesus  asked 
if  a  wayfarer  never  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  cenoby 
after  dark  asking  for  bread  and  board.  None  knows  the 
path  well  enough  to  keep  to  it  after  dark,  Saddoc  said ; 
though  the  moon  be  high  and  bright  the  shadows  dis- 
guise the  path  yonder.  The  path  is  always  in  darkness 
where  it  bends  round  the  rocks,  and  the  wayfarer  would 
miss  his  footing  and  fall  over  into  the  abyss,  even  though 
he  were  a  shepherd.  Thyself  wouldst  miss  it.  Saddoc 
speaks  well;  none  can  follow  the  path,  Manahem  said, 
and  fortunately,  else  we  should  have  all  the  vagrants  of 
the  country  knocking  at  our  door. 

We  shall  have  one  to-night  —  vagrant  or  prophet,  Jesus 
said,  and  asked  his  brethren  to  look  yonder;  for  it  seemed  to 
him  that  a  man  had  just  come  out  of  the  shadow  of  an  over- 
hanging rock.  Manahem  could  see  nobody,  for,  he  said, 
none  could  find  the  way  in  the  darkness,  and  if  it  be  a  demon, 
he  continued,  and  fall,  it  will  not  harm  him :  the  devil  will 
hold  him  up  lest  he  dash  himself  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine. 
But  if  it  be  a  man  of  flesh  and  blood  like  ourselves  he  will 
topple  over  yon  rock,  and  Manahem  pointed  to  a  spot,  and 
they  waited,  expecting  to  see  the  shadow  or  the  man  they  were 
watching  disappear,  but  the  man  or  the  shadow  kept  close  to 
the  cliffs,  avoiding  what  seemed  to  be  the  path  so  skilfully 
that  Saddoc  and  Manahem  said  he  must  know  the  way.  He 
will  reach  the  bridge  safely,  cried  Saddoc,  and  we  shall 
have  to  open  our  doors  to  him.  Now  he  is  crossing  the 
bridge,  and  now  he  begins  the  ascent.  Let  us  pray  that  he 
may  miss  the  path  through  the  terraces.  But  would  you 
have  him  miss  it,  Saddoc,  Jesus  asked,  for  the  sake  of  thy 
rest  ?  He  shall  have  my  mattress ;  I'll  sleep  on  this  bench  in 
the  window  under  the  sky,  and  shall  be  better  there :  a  roof 
is  not  my  use  nor  wont.     But  who,  said  Saddoc,  can  he  be  ?  — 


38o  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

for  certainly  the  man,  if  he  be  not  an  evil  spirit,  is  coming 
to  ask  for  shelter  for  the  night ;  and  if  he  be  not  a  demon  he 
may  be  a  prophet  or  robber :  once  more  the  hills  are  filled 
with  robbers.  Or  it  may  be,  Jesus  said,  the  preacher  of 
whom  Jacob  spoke  to  me  this  evening ;  he  came  up  from  the 
Jordan  with  a  story  of  a  preacher  that  the  multitude  would 
not  listen  to  and  sought  to  drown  in  the  river,  and  our  future 
shepherd  told  me  how  the  rabble  had  followed  him  over  the 
hills  with  the  intent  to  kill  him.  Some  great  and  terrible 
heresy  he  must  be  preaching  to  stir  them  like  that,  Manahem 
said,  and  he  asked  if  the  shepherd  had  brought  news  of  the 
prophet's  escape  or  death.  Jesus  answered  that  the  shepherd 
thought  the  prophet  had  escaped  into  a  cave,  for  he  saw  the 
crowd  dispersing,  going  home  like  dogs  from  a  hunt  when  they 
have  lost  their  prey.  If  so,  he  has  been  lying  by  in  the  cave. 
Who  can  he  be  ?  Saddoc  asked.  Only  a  shepherd  could 
have  kept  to  the  path.  Now  he  sees  us  .  .  .  and  methinks 
he  is  no  shepherd,  but  a  robber. 

The  Essenes  waited  a  few  moments  longer  and  the  knock- 
ing they  had  expected  came  at  their  door.  Do  not  open  it, 
Saddoc  cried.  He  is  for  sure  a  robber  sent  in  advance  of  his 
band,  or  it  may  be  a  prisoner  of  the  Romans,  and  to  harbour 
him  may  put  us  on  crosses  above  the  hills.  We  shall  hang ! 
Open  not  the  door !  If  it  be  a  wayfarer  lost  among  the  hills  a 
little  food  and  water  will  save  him,  Jesus  answered.  Open 
not  the  door,  Jesus ;  though  he  be  a  prophet  I  would  not  open 
to  him.  A  prophet  he  may  be,  and  no  greater  danger  besets 
us,  for  our  later  prophets  induced  men  to  follow  them  into 
the  desert,  promising  that  they  should  witness  the  raising  of 
the  dead  with  God  riding  the  clouds  and  coming  down  for 
judgment.  I  say  open  not  the  door  to  him,  Jesus !  He 
may  be  one  of  the  followers  of  the  prophets,  of  which  we  have 
seen  enough  in  these  last  years,  God  knows !  The  cavalry  of 
Festus  may  be  in  pursuit  of  him  and  his  band,  and  they  have 
cut  down  many  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho.     I  say  open 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  381 

not  the  door !  We  live  among  terrors  and  dangers,  Jesus ; 
open  not  the  door !  Harken,  Saddoc,  he  calls  us  to  open  to 
him,  Jesus  said,  moving  towards  the  door.  He  is  alone.  We 
know  he  is,  for  we  have  seen  him  coming  down  a  path  on 
which  two  men  pass  each  other  with  difficulty.  He  is  a  way- 
farer, and  we've  been  safe  on  this  ledge  of  rock  for  many 
years ;  and  times  are  quieter  now  than  they  h^ve  been  since 
the  dispersal  of  the  great  multitude  that  followed  Theudas 
and  were  destroyed,  and  the  lesser  multitude  that  followed 
Banu ;   they,  too,  have  perished. 

Open  not  the  door,  Jesus  !  Saddoc  cried  again.  There  are 
Sicarii  who  kill  men  in  the  daytime,  mingling  themselves 
among  the  multitude  with  daggers  hidden  in  their  garments, 
their  mission  being  to  stab  those  that  disobey  the  law  in 
any  fraction.  We're  Essenes,  and  have  not  sent  blood  offer- 
ings to  the  Temple.  Open  not  the  door.  Sicarii  or  Zealots 
travel  in  search  of  heretics  through  the  cities  of  Samaria 
and  Judea.  Open  not  the  door !  Men  are  for  ever  fooled, 
Saddoc  continued,  and  will  never  cease  to  open  their  doors 
to  those  who  stand  in  need  of  meat  and  drink.  It  will  be 
safer,  jesus,  to  bid  him  away.  Tell  him  rather  that  we'll 
let  down  a  basket  of  meat  and  drink  from  the  balcony  to 
him.  Art  thou,  Manahem,  for  turning  this  man  from  the 
door  or  letting  him  in  ?  Jesus  asked.  There  is  no  need  to 
be  frightened,  Manahem  answered ;  he  is  but  a  wanderer, 
Saddoc.  A  wanderer  he  cannot  be,  for  he  has  found  his  way 
along  the  path  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  Saddoc  inter- 
jected. Open  not  the  door,  I  tell  thee,  or  else  we  all  hang 
on  crosses  above  the  hills  to-morrow.  But,  Saddoc,  we  are 
beholden  to  the  law  not  to  refuse  bed  and  board  to  the  poor, 
Manahem  replied,  returning  from  the  door.  If  we  do  not 
open,  Jesus  said,  he  will  leave  our  door,  and  that  will  be  a 
greater  misfortun.e  than  any  that  he  may  bring  us.  Harken, 
Saddoc !  He  speaks  fair  enough,  Saddoc  replied ;  but  we 
may  plead  that  after  sunset  in  the  times  we  live  in But, 


382  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Manahem,  Jesus  interjected,  say  on  which  side  thou  art.  .  .  . 
We  know  there  is  but  one  man ;  and  we  are  more  than  a 
match  for  one.  Put  a  sword  in  Saddoc's  hand.  No  !  Mana- 
hem !  for  I  should  seem  like  a  fool  with  a  sword  in  my  hand. 
Since  thou  sayest  there  is  but  one  man  and  we  are  three,  it 
might  be  unlucky  to  turn  him  from  our  doors.  May  I 
then  open  to  him  ?  Jesus  asked,  and  he  began  to  unbar  the 
great  door,  and  a  heavy,  thick-set  man,  weary  of  limb  and 
mind,  staggered  into  the  gallery,  and  stood  looking  from  one 
to  the  other,  as  if  trying  to  guess  which  of  the  three  would 
be  most  likely  to  welcome  him.  His  large  and  bowed 
shoulders  made  his  bald,  egg-shaped  skull  (his  turban  had 
fallen  in  his  flight)  seem  ridiculously  small ;  it  was  bald  to 
the  ears,  and  a  thick  black  beard  spread  over  the  face  like 
broom,  and  nearly  to  the  eyes ;  thick  black  eyebrows  shaded 
eyes  so  piercing  and  brilliant  that  the  three  Essenes  were 
already  aware  that  a  man  of  great  energy  had  come  amongst 
them.  He  had  run  up  the  terraces  despite  his  great  girdle- 
stead  and  he  stood  before  them  like  a  hunted  animal,  breath- 
ing hard,  looking  from  one  to  the  other,  a  red,  callous  hand 
scratching  in  his  shaggy  chest,  his  eyes  fixed  first  on  Saddoc 
and  then  on  Manahem  and  lastly  on  Jesus,  whom  he  seemed 
to  recognise  as  a  friend.  May  I  rest  a  little  while  ?  If  so,  give 
me  drink  before  I  sleep,  he  asked.  No  food,  but  drink. 
Why  do  ye  not  answer  ?  Do  ye  fear  me,  mistaking  me  for  a 
robber  ?  Or  have  I  wandered  among  robbers  .''  Where  am 
I  ?  Hark :  I  am  but  a  wayfarer  and  thou'rt  a  shepherd  of 
the  hills,  I  know  thee  by  thy  garb,  thou'lt  not  refuse  me 
shelter.  And  Jesus,  turning  to  Saddoc  and  Manahem, 
said :  he  shall  have  the  mattress  I  was  to  sleep  upon.  Give  it 
to  him,  Manahem.  Thou  shalt  have  food  and  a  coverlet, 
he  said,  turning  to  the  wayfarer.  No  food !  he  cried ;  but 
a  drink  of  water.  There  is  some  ewe's  milk  on  the  shelf, 
Manahem.  Thou  must  be  footsore,  he  said,  giving  the  milk 
to  the  stranger,  who  drank  it  greedily.     I'll  get  thee  a  linen 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  383 

garment  so  that  thou  mayst  sleep  more  comfortable;  and 
I'll  bathe  thy  feet  before  sleep ;  sleep  will  come  easier  in  a 
fresh  garment.  But  to  whose  dwelling  have  I  come  ?  the 
stranger  asked.  A  shepherd  told  me  the  Essenes  lived  among 
the  rocks.  .  .  .  Am  I  among  them  ?  He  told  me  to  keep 
close  to  the  cliff's  edge  or  I  should  topple  over.  We  watched 
thee,  and  it  seemed  every  moment  that  thou  couldst  not 
escape  death.  It  will  be  well  to  ask  him  his  name  and  whence 
he  comes,  Saddoc  whispered  to  Manahem.  The  shepherd 
told  thee  that  we  are  Essenes,  and  it  remains  for  thee  to  tell 

us  whom  we  entertain.     A  prisoner  of  the  Romans A 

prisoner  of  the  Romans  !  Saddoc  cried.  Then  indeed  we  are 
lost ;  a  prisoner  of  the  Romans,  with  soldiers  perhaps  at  thy 
heels !  A  prisoner  fled  from  Roman  justice  may  not  lodge 
here.  .  .  .  Let  us  put  him  beyond  our  doors.  And  becom- 
ing suddenly  courageous  Saddoc  went  up  to  Paul  and  tried 
to  lift  him  to  his  feet.     Manahem,  aid  me ! 

Jesus,  who  had  gone  to  fetch  a  basin  of  water  and  a  garment, 
returned  and  asked  Saddoc  and  Manahem  the  cause  of  their 
unseemly  struggle  with  their  guest.  They  replied  that  their 
guest  had  told  them  he  was  a  prisoner  of  the  Romans.  Even 
so,  Jesus  answered,  we  cannot  turn  him  from  our  doors. 
These  men  have  little  understanding,  Paul  answered.  I'm 
not  a  criminal  fled  from  Roman  justice,  but  a  man  escaped 
from  Jewish  persecution.  Why  then  didst  thou  say,  cried 
Saddoc,  that  thou'rt  a  prisoner  of  the  Romans  ?  Because  I 
would  not  be  taken  to  Jerusalem  to  be  tried  before  the  Jews. 
I  appealed  to  Caesar,  and  while  waiting  on  the  ship  to  take 
me  to  Italy,  Festus  gave  me  leave  to  come  here,  for  I  heard 
that  there  were  Jews  in  Jericho  of  great  piety,  men  unlike  the 
Jews  of  Jerusalem,  who  though  circumcised  in  the  flesh  are 
uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ear.  Of  all  of  this  I  will  tell  you 
to-morrow,  and  do  you  tell  me  now  of  him  that  followed  me 
along  the  cliff.  We  saw  no  one  following  thee ;  thou  wast 
alone.     He  may  have  missed  me  before  I  turned  down  the 


384  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

path  coming  from  Jericho.  I  speak  of  Timothy,  my  beloved 
son  in  the  faith.  What  strange  man  is  this  that  we  entertain 
for  the  night  ?  Saddoc  whispered  to  Manahem.  And  if 
any  disciple  of  mine  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews  of  Jerusa- 
lem       We  know  not  of  what  thou'rt   speaking,  Jesus 

answered ;  and  it  is  doubtless  too  long  a  story  to  tell  to-night. 
I  must  go  at  once  in  search  of  Timothy,  Paul  said,  and  he 
turned  towards  the  door.  The  moon  is  setting,  Jesus  cried, 
and  returning  to-night  will  mean  thy  death  over  the  cliff's 
edge.  There  is  no  strength  in  thy  legs  to  keep  thee  to  the 
path.  I  should  seek  him  in  vain,  Paul  answered.  Rest  a 
little  while,  Jesus  said,  and  drink  a  little  ewe's  milk,  and  when 
thou  hast  drunken  I'll  bathe  thy  feet. 

Without  waiting  for  Paul's  assent  he  knelt  to  untie  his 
sandals.  We  came  from  Caesarea  to  Jericho  to  preach  the 
abrogation  of  the  law.  What  strange  thing  is  he  saying  now  ? 
The  abrogation  of  the  law !  Saddoc  whispered  to  Manahem. 
The  people  would  not  listen  to  us,  and,  stirred  up  by  the 
Jews,  they  sought  to  capture  us,  but  we  escaped  into  the  hills 
and  hid  in  a  cave  to  which  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  directed  us. 
Hark,  an  angel  pointed  out  a  cave  to  him !  Manahem  whis- 
pered in  Saddoc's  ear.  Then  he  must  be  a  good  man,  Saddoc 
answered,  but  we  know  not  if  he  speaks  the  truth.  We  have 
had  too  many  prophets ;  he  is  another,  and  of  the  same  tribe, 
setting  men  by  the  ears.     We  have  had  too  many  prophets  ! 

Now  let  me  bathe  thy  feet,  which  are  swollen,  and  after 
bathing  Paul's  feet,  Jesus  relieved  him  of  his  garment  and 
passed  a  white  robe  over  his  shoulders.  Thou'lt  sleep  easier 
in  it.  They  would  have  done  well  to  barken  to  me,  Paul 
muttered.  Thou'lt  tell  us  thy  story  of  ill  treatment  to- 
morrow, Jesus  said,  and  he  laid  Paul  back  on  his  pillow,  and 
a  moment  after  he  was  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

JESUS  feared  to  awaken  him,  but  was  constrained  at  last  to 
call  after  him  :  thou'rt  dreaming,  Paul.  Awake  !  Remember 
the  Essenes  .  .  .  friends,  friends.  But  Paul  did  not  hear 
him,  and  it  was  not  till  Jesus  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder 
that  Paul  opened  his  eyes :  thou  hast  been  dreaming,  Paul, 
Jesus  said.  Where  am  I,  Paul  inquired.  With  the  Essenes, 
Jesus  answered.  I  was  too  tired  to  sleep  deeply,  Paul  said, 
and  it  would  be  useless  for  me  to  lie  down  again.  I  am  afraid 
of  my  dreams ;  and  together  they  stood  looking  across  the 
abyss  watching  the  rocks  opposite  coming  into  their  shapes 
against  a  strip  of  green  sky. 

The  ravine  was  still  full  of  mist,  and  a  long  time  seemed  to 
pass  before  the  bridge  and  the  ruins  over  against  the  bridge 
began  to  appear.  As  the  dawn  advanced  sleep  came  upon 
Paul's  eyelids.  He  lay  down  and  dozed  awhile,  for  about  an 
hour,  and  when  he  opened  his  eyes  again  Jesus'  hand  was 
upon  his  shoulder  and  he  was  saying :  Paul,  it  is  now  day- 
break :  at  the  Brook  Kerith  we  go  forth  to  meet  the  sunrise. 
To  meet  the  sunrise,  Paul  repeated,  for  he  knew  nothing  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Essenes.  But  he  followed  Jesus  through 
the  gallery  and  received  from  him  a  small  hatchet  with  in- 
structions how  he  should  use  it,  and  a  jar  which  he  must  fill 
with  water  at  the  well.  We  carry  water  with  us,  Jesus  said, 
for  the  way  is  long  to  the  brook ;  only  by  sending  nearly  to 
the  source  can  we  reach  it,  for  we  are  mindful  not  to  foul 
the  water  we  drink.  But  come,  we're  late  already.  Jesus 
threw  a  garment  over  Paul's  shoulder  and  told  him  of  the 
prayers   he   must  murmur.     We   do  not   speak  of  profane 

2C  38s 


386  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

matters  till  after  sunrise.  He  broke  off  suddenly  and 
pointed  to  a  place  where  they  might  dig :  and  as  soon  as  we 
have  purified  ourselves,  he  continued,  we  will  fare  forth  in 
search  of  shepherds,  who,  on  being  instructed  by  us,  will  be 
watchful  for  a  young  man  lost  on  the  hills  and  will  direct 
him  to  the  Essene  settlement  above  the  Brook  Kerith.  Be 
of  good  courage,  he  will  be  found.  Hadst  thou  come  before 
to-day  myself  would  be  seeking  him  for  thee,  but  yesterday 
I  gave  over  my  flock  to  Jacob,  a  trustworthy  lad,  who  will 
give  the  word*  to  the  next  one,  and  he  will  pass  it  on  to 
another,  and  so  the  news  will  be  carried  the  best  part  of  the 
way  to  Caesarea  before  noon.  It  may  be  that  thy  companion 
has  found  his  way  to  Caesarea  already,  for  some  can  return 
whither  they  have  come,  however  long  and  strange  the  way 
may  be.  Pause,  we  shall  hear  Jacob's  pipe  answer  mine. 
Jesus  played  a  few  notes,  which  were  answered  immediately, 
and  not  long  afterwards  the  shepherd  appeared  over  a  ridge  of 
hills.  Thy  shepherd,  Paul  said,  is  but  a  few  years  younger 
than  Timothy  and  he  looks  to  thee  as  Timothy  looks  to  me. 
Tell  him  who  I  am  and  whom  I  seek.  Jacob,  Jesus  said, 
thou  didst  tell  me  last  night  of  a  preacher  to  whom  the  multi- 
tude would  not  listen,  but  sought  to  throw  into  the  Jordan. 
He  has  come  amongst  us  seeking  his  companion  Timothy. 
The  twain  escaped  from  the  multitude,  Jacob  interjected. 
That  is  true,  Jesus  answered,  but  they  ran  apart  above 
the  brook,  one  keeping  on  to  Caesarea,  this  man  followed 
the  path  round  the  rocks  (how  he  did  it  we  are  still 
wondering)  and  climbed  up  to  our  dwelling.  We  must  find 
his  companion  for  him.  Jacob  promised  that  every  shepherd 
should  hear  that  a  young  man  was  missing.  As  soon  as  a 
shepherd  appears  on  yon  hillside,  Jacob  said,  he  shall  have  the 
word  from  me,  and  he  will  pass  it  on.  Jesus  looked  up  into 
Paul's  anxious  face.  We  cannot  do  more,  he  said,  and  began 
to  speak  with  Jacob  of  rams  and  ewes  just  as  if  Timothy 
had  passed  out  of  their  minds.     Paul  listened  for  a  while, 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  387 

but  finding  little  to  beguile  his  attention  in  their  talk,  he  bade 
Jesus  and  Jacob  good-bye  for  the  present,  saying  he  was 
returning  to  the  cenoby.  I  wonder,  he  said  to  himself,  as 
he  went  up  the  hill,  if  they'd  take  interest  in  my  craft,  I 
could  talk  to  them  for  a  long  while  of  the  thread  which  should 
always  be  carefully  chosen,  and  which  should  be  smooth  and 
of  equal  strength,  else,  however  deftly  the  shuttle  be  passed, 
the  woof  would  be  rough.  But  no  matter,  if  they'll  get 
news  of  Timothy  for  me  I'll  listen  to  their  talk  of  rams  and 
ewes  without  complaint.  It  was  kind  of  Jacob  to  say  he 
did  not  think  Timothy  had  fallen  down  a  precipice,  but  what 
does  he  know  ^  and  on  his  way  back  Paul  tried  to  recall  the 
ravine  that  he  had  seen  in  the  dusk  as  he  leaned  over  the 
balcony  with  Jesus.  And  as  he  passed  through  the  domed 
gallery  he  stopped  for  a  moment  by  the  well,  it  having  struck 
him  that  he  might  ask  the  brother  drawing  water  to  come 
with  him  to  look  for  Timothy.  If  my  son  were  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ravine,  he  said,  I  should  not  be  able  to  get  him 
out  without  help.     Come  with  me. 

The  Essene  did  not  know  who  Paul  was,  nor  of  whom  he 
was  speaking,  and  at  the  end  of  Paul's  relation  the  brother 
answered  that  there  might  be  two  hundred  feet  from  the 
pathway  to  the  brook,  more  than  that  in  many  places; 
but  thou'lt  see  for  thyself;  I  may  not  leave  my  work.  If  a 
man  be  dying  the  Essene,  by  his  rule,  must  succour 
him,  Paul  said.  But  I  know  not,  the  Essene  answered, 
that  any  man  be  dying  in  the  brook.  We  believe  thy  com- 
rade held  on  to  the  road  to  Cassarea.  So  it  may  have  be- 
fallen, Paul  said,  but  it  may  be  else.  It  may  be,  the  Essene 
answered,  but  not  likely.  He  held  on  to  the  road  to  Caesarea, 
and  finding  thee  no  longer  with  him  kept  on  —  or  rolled 
over  the  cliff,  Paul  interrupted.  Well,  see  for  thyself;  and 
if  he  be  at  the  bottom  I'll  come  to  help  thee.  But  it  is  a 
long  way  down,  and  it  may  be  that  we  have  no  rope  long 
enough,  and  without  one  we  cannot  reach  him,  but  forgive 


388  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

me,  for  I  see  that  my  words  hurt  thee.  But  how  else  am  I 
to  speak  ?  I  know  thy  words  were  meant  kindly,  and  if  thy 
president  should  ask  to  see  me  thou'lt  tell  him  I've  gone  down 
the  terraces  and  will  return  as  soon  as  I  have  made  search. 
This  search  should  have  been  made  before.  That  was  not 
possible ;  the  mist  is  only  just  cleared,  the  brother  answered, 
and  Paul  proceeded  up  and  down  the  terraces  till  he  reached 
the  bridge,  and  after  crossing  it  he  mounted  the  path  and  con- 
tinued it,  venturing  close  to  the  edge  and  looking  down  the 
steep  sides  as  he  went,  but  seeing  nowhere  any  traces  of 
Timothy.  Had  he  fallen  here,  he  said  to  himself,  he  would  be 
lying  in  the  Brook.  But  were  Timothy  lying  there  I  could 
not  fail  to  see  him,  nor  is  there  water  enough  to  wash  him 
down  into  Jordan.  It  must  be  he  is  seeking  his  way  to 
Caesarea.  Let  it  be  so,  I  pray  God,  and  Paul  continued  his 
search  till  he  came  to  where  the  path  twisted  round  a  rock 
debouching  on  to  the  hillsides.  We  separated  here,  he  said, 
looking  round,  and  then  remembering  that  they  had  been  pur- 
sued for  several  miles  into  the  hills  and  that  the  enemy's 
scouts  might  be  lurking  in  the  neighbourhood,  he  turned  back 
and  descended  the  path,  convinced  of  the  uselessness  of  his 
search.  We  parted  at  that  rock,  Timothy  keeping  to  the  left 
and  myself  turning  to  the  right,  and  if  anything  has  befallen 
he  must  be  sought  for  by  shepherds,  aided  by  dogs.  Only 
with  the  help  of  dogs  can  he  be  traced,  he  said,  and  returning 
slowly  to  the  bridge,  he  stood  there  lost  in  feverish  fore- 
bodings, new  ones  rising  up  in  his  mind  continually,  for  it 
might  well  be,  he  reflected,  that  Timothy  has  been  killed 
by  robbers,  for  these  hills  are  infested  by  robbers  and  wild 
beasts,  and  worse  than  the  wild  beasts  and  the  robbers 
are  the  Jews,  who  would  pay  a  large  sum  of  money  for  his 
capture. 

And  his  thoughts  running  on  incontinently,  he  imagined 
Timothy  a  prisoner  in  Jerusalem  and  himself  forced  to  decide 
whether  he  should  go  there  to  defend  Timothy  or  abandon 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  389 

his  mission.  A  terrible  choice  it  would  be  for  him  to  have  to 
choose  between  his  duty  towards  men  and  his  love  of  his 
son,  for  Timothy  was  more  to  him  than  many  sons  are  to 
their  fathers,  the  companion  of  all  his  travels  and  his  hope, 
for  he  was  falling  into  years  and  needed  Timothy  now  more 
than  ever.  But  it  was  not  likely  that  the  Jews  had  heard 
that  Timothy  was  travelling  from  Jericho  to  Caesarea,  and  it 
was  a  feverish  imagination  of  his  to  think  that  they  would 
have  time  to  send  out  agents  to  capture  Timothy.  But  if 
such  a  thing  befell  how  would  he  account  to  Eunice  for  the 
death  of  the  son  that  she  had  given  him,  wishing  that  some- 
body should  be  near  him  to  protect  and  to  serve  him.  He  had 
thought  never  to  see  Eunice  again,  but  if  her  son  perished  he 
would  have  to  see  her.  But  no,  there  would  be  no  time  —  he 
had  appealed  to  Caesar.  He  must  send  a  letter  to  her  telling 
that  he  had  started  out  for  Jericho.  A  dangerous  journey 
he  knew  it  to  be,  but  he  was  without  strength  to  resist  the 
temptation  of  one  more  effort  to  save  the  Jews :  a  hard, 
bitter,  stiff-necked,  stubborn  race  that  did  not  deserve  salva- 
tion, that  resisted  it.  He  had  been  scourged,  how  many 
times,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Jews  ?  and  they  had  stoned 
him  at  Lystra,  a  city  ever  dear  to  him,  for  it  was  there  he  had 
met  Eunice;  the  memories  that  gathered  round  her  beautiful 
name  calmed  his  disquiet,  and  the  brook  murmuring  under 
the  bridge  through  the  silence  of  the  gorge  disposed  Paul  to 
indulge  his  memory,  and  in  it  the  past  was  so  pathetic  and 
poignant  that  it  was  almost  a  pain  to  remember.  But  he 
must  remember,  and  following  after  a  glimpse  of  the  Syna- 
gogue and  himself  preaching  in  it  there  came  upon  him  a 
vision  of  the  tall,  grave  woman  since  known  to  him  as  a  thorn 
in  his  flesh,  but  he  need  not  trouble  to  remember  his  sins, 
for  had  not  God  himself  forgiven  him,  telling  him  that  his 
grace  was  enough  ?  Why  then  should  he  hesitate  to  recall 
the  grave,  oval  face  that  he  had  loved  ?  He  could  see  it  as 
plainly  in  his  memory  as  if  it  were  before  him  in  the  flesh,  her 


390  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

eyes  asking  for  his  help  so  appealingly  that  he  had  been  con- 
strained to  rehnquish  the  crowd  to  Barnabas  and  give  his 
mind  to  Eunice.  And  they  had  walked  on  together,  he 
listening  to  her  telling  how  she  had  not  been  to  the  Synagogue 
for  many  years,  for  though  she  and  her  mother  were  proselytes 
to  the  Jewish  faith,  neither  practised  it,  since  her  marriage, 
for  her  husband  was  a  pagan.  She  had  indeed  taught  her  son 
the  Scriptures  in  Greek,  but  no  restraint  had  been  put  upon 
him ;  and  she  did  not  know  to  what  god  or  goddess  he  offered 
sacrifice.  But  last  night  an  angel  visited  her  and  told  her 
that  that  which  she  had  always  been  seeking  (though  she  had 
forgotten  it)  awaited  her  in  the  Synagogue.  So  she  had  gone 
thither  and  was  not  disappointed.  I've  always  been  seeking 
him  of  whom  thou  speakest.  Her  very  words,  and  the  very 
intonation  of  her  voice  in  these  words  came  back  to  him ;  he 
had  put  questions  to  her,  and  they  had  not  come  to  the  end 
of  their  talk  when  Lois,  calling  from  the  doorstep,  said : 
wilt  pass  the  door,  Eunice,  without  asking  the  stranger  to 
cross  it  ?  Whereupon  she  turned  her  eyes  on  Paul  and  asked 
him  to  forgive  her  for  her  forgetfulness,  and  Barnabas  ar- 
riving at  that  moment,  she  begged  him  to  enter. 

And  they  had  stayed  on  and  on,  exceeding  their  appor- 
tioned time,  Barnabas  reproving  the  delay,  but  always 
agreeing  that  their  departure  should  be  adjourned  since  it 
was  Paul's  wish  to  adjourn  it.  So  Barnabas  had  always 
spoken,  for  he  was  a  weak  man,  and  Paul  acknowledged  to 
himself  that  he  too  was  a  weak  man  in  those  days. 

Lois  seemed  to  love  Barnabas  as  a  mother,  and  Lois  and 
Eunice  were  received  by  me  into  the  faith,  Paul  said.  On 
these  words  his  thoughts  floated  away  and  he  became  ab- 
sorbed in  recollections  of  the  house  in  Lystra.  The  months 
he  had  spent  with  these  two  women  had  been  given  to  him, 
no  doubt,  as  a  recompense  for  the  labours  he  had  endured 
to  bring  men  to  believe  that  by  faith  only  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  could   they   be  saved.     He  would   never  see 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  391 

Lystra  again  with  his  physical  eye,  but  it  would  always  be 
before  him  in  his  mind's  eye :  that  terrible  day  the  Jews  had 
dragged  him  and  Barnabas  outside  the  town  rose  up  before 
him.  Only  by  feigning  death  did  they  escape  the  fate  of 
Stephen.  In  the  evening  the  disciples  brought  them  back. 
Lois  and  Eunice  sponged  their  wounds,  and  at  daybreak 
they  left  for  Derbe,  Barnabas  saying  that  perhaps  God 
was  angry  at  their  delay  in  Lystra  and  to  bring  them  back 
to  his  work  had  bidden  the  Jews  stone  them  without  killing 
them.  Eunice  was  not  sure  that  Barnabas  had  not  spoken 
truly,  and  Paul  remembered  with  gratitude  that  she  always 
put  his  mission  before  herself.  Thou'lt  be  safer,  she  said,  in 
Derbe,  and  from  Derbe  thou  must  go  on  carrying  the  glad 
tidings  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  But  thou  must  not  forget 
thy  Galatians,  and  when  thou  returnest  to  Lystra  Timothy 
will  be  old  enough  to  follow  thee.  He  had  fared  for  ever  on- 
wards over  seas  and  lands,  ever  mindful  of  his  faithful  Gala- 
tians and  Eunice  and  her  son  whom  she  had  promised  to  him, 
and  whom  he  had  left  learning  Greek  so  that  he  might  fulfil 
the  duties  of  amanuensis. 

The  silence  of  the  gorge  and  the  murmur  of  the  brook  en- 
ticed recollections  and  he  was  about  to  abandon  himself  to 
memories  of  his  second  visit  to  Lystra  when  a  voice  startled 
him  from  his  reverie,  and,  looking  round,  he  saw  a  tall,  thin 
man  who  held  his  head  picturesquely.  I  presume  you  are 
our  guest,  and  seeing  you  alone,  I  laid  my  notes  aside  and 
have  come  to  offer  my  services  to  you.  Your  services  ? 
Paul  repeated.  If  you  desire  my  services,  Mathias  replied, 
and  if  I  am  mistaken,  and  you  do  not  require  them,  I  will 
withdraw  and  apologise  for  my  intrusion.  For  your  in- 
trusion ?  Paul  repeated.  I  am  your  guest,  and  the  guest  of 
the  Essenes,  for  last  night  Timothy  and  myself  were  assailed 
by  the  Jews.  By  the  Jews  ?  Mathias  replied,  but  we  are 
Jews.  Whereupon  Paul  told  him  of  his  journey  from 
Caesarea,  and  that  he  barely  escaped  drowning  in  the  Jordan. 


392  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

In  the  escape  from  drowning  Mathias  showed  little  interest, 
but  he  was  curious  to  hear  the  doctrine  that  had  given  so 
much  offence.  I  spoke  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Paul 
answered,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man  who  was 
sent  by  his  Father  to  redeem  the  world.  Only  by  faith  in 
him  the  world  may  be  saved,  and  the  Jews  will  not  listen. 
A  hard,  bitter,  cruel  race  they  are,  that  God  will  turn  from 
in  the  end,  choosing  another  from  the  Gentiles,  since  they 
will  not  accept  him  whom  God  has  chosen  to  redeem  men  by 
the  death  and  resurrection  from  the  dead  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  raised  from  the  dead  by  his  Father.  Mathias 
raised  his  eyes  at  the  words  "resurrection  from  the  dead." 
Of  whom  was  Paul  speaking  ?  He  could  still  be  interested 
in  miracles,  but  not  in  the  question  whether  the  corruptible 
body  could  be  raised  up  from  earth  to  heaven.  He  had 
wearied  of  that  question  long  ago,  and  was  now  propense 
to  rail  against  the  little  interest  the  Jews  took  in  certain 
philosophical  questions  —  the  relation  of  God  to  the  universe, 
and  suchlike  —  and  he  began  to  speak  to  Paul  of  his  country, 
Egypt,  and  of  Alexandria's  schools  of  philosophy,  continuing 
in  this  wise  till  Paul  asked  him  how  it  was  that  he  had  left 
a  country  where  the  minds  of  the  people  were  in  harmony 
with  his  mind  to  come  to  live  among  people  whose  thoughts 
were  opposed  to  his.  That  would  be  a  long  story  to  tell, 
Mathias  answered,  and  I  am  in  the  midst  of  my  argument. 

The  expression  that  began  to  move  over  Mathias'  face 
told  Paul  that  he  was  asking  himself  once  again  what  his 
life  would  have  been  if  he  had  remained  in  Alexandria. 
Talking,  he  said,  to  these  Essenes  who  stand  midway  between 
Jerusalem  and  Alexandria  my  life  has  p;one  by.  Why  I 
remained  with  them  so  long  is  a  question  I  have  often  asked 
myself.  Why  I  came  hither  with  them  from  the  cenoby  on 
the  eastern  bank,  that  too,  is  a  matter  that  I  have  never 
been  able  to  decide.  You  have  heard,  he  continued,  of  the 
schism  of  the  Essenes.     How  those  on  the   eastern    bank 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  393 

believe  that  the  order  can  only  be  preserved  by  marriage, 
while  those  on  the  western  bank,  the  traditionalists  up  there 
on  that  rock  in  that  aerie,  would  rather  the  order  died  than 
that  any  change  should  be  made  in  the  rule  of  life.  In 
answer  to  a  question  from  Paul  he  said  he  did  not  believe  that 
the  order  would  survive  the  schism.  It  may  be,  too,  that  I 
return  to  Alexandria.  No  man  knows  his  destiny ;  but  if  you 
be  minded,  he  said,  to  hear  me,  I  will  reserve  a  place  near  to 
me.  My  mind  is  distracted,  Paul  replied,  by  fears  for  the 
safety  of  Timothy;  and  perhaps  to  save  himself  from 
Mathias'  somewhat  monotonous  discourse  he  spoke  of  his 
apostolic  mission,  interesting  Mathias  at  once,  who  began  to 
perceive  that  Paul,  however  crude  and  elementary  his  con- 
ceptions might  be  (so  crude  did  they  appear  to  Mathias 
that  he  was  not  inclined  to  include  them  in  his  code  of  philo- 
sophical notions  at  all),  was  a  story  in  himself,  and  one  not 
lacking  in  interest ;  his  ideas  though  crude  were  not  common, 
and  their  talk  had  lasted  long  enough  for  him  to  discern 
many  original  turns  of  speech  in  Paul's  incorrect  Greek, 
altogether  lacking  in  construction,  but  betraying  constantly 
an  abrupt  vigour  of  thought.  He  was  therefore  disappointed 
when  Paul,  dropping  suddenly  the  story  of  the  apostolic 
mission,  which  he  had  received  from  the  apostles,  who  them- 
selves had  received  it  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  began  to 
tell  suddenly  that  on  his  return  from  his  mission  to  Cyprus 
with  Barnabas  he  had  preached  in  Derbe  and  Lystra.  It 
was  in  Lystra,  he  cried,  that  I  met  Timothy,  whom  I  circum- 
cised with  my  own  hand ;  he  was  then  a  boy  of  ten,  and  his 
mother,  who  was  a  pious,  God-fearing  woman,  foresaw  in  him 
a  disciple,  and  said  when  we  left,  after  having  been  cured  by 
her  and  her  mother  of  our  wounds,  when  thou  returnest  to 
the  Galatians  he  will  be  nearly  old  enough  to  follow  thee, 
but  tarry  not  so  long,  she  added.  But  it  was  a  long  while 
before  I  returned  to  Lystra,  and  then  Timothy  was  a  young 
man,  and  ever  since  our  lives  have  been  spent  in  the  Lord's 


394  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

service,  sufFermg  tortures  from  robbers  that  sought  to 
obtain  ransom.  We  have  been  scourged  and  shipwrecked. 
But,  said  Mathias,  interrupting  him,  I  know  not  of  what  you 
are  speaking,  and  Paul  was  obliged  to  go  over  laboriously  in 
words  the  story  that  he  had  dreamed  in  a  few  seconds.  And 
when  it  was  told  Mathias  said  :  your  story  is  worth  telling. 
After  my  lecture  the  brethren  will  be  glad  to  listen  to  you. 
But,  said  Paul,  what  I  have  told  you  is  nothing  to  what  I 
could  tell ;  and  Mathias  answered :  so  much  the  better, 
for  I  shall  not  have  to  listen  to  a  twice-told  story.  And  now, 
he  added,  I  must  leave  you,  for  I  have  matter  that  must  be 
carefully  thought  out,  and  in  those  ruins  yonder  my  best 
thinking  is  done. 

Speak  to  the  Essenes ;  tell  them  of  my  conversion  ?  Paul 
repeated.  Why  not  ?  he  asked  himself,  since  he  was  here  and 
could  not  leave  till  nightfall.  Festus  had  given  him  leave 
to  go  to  Jericho  to  preach  while  waiting  for  the  ship  that 
was  to  take  him  to  Rome,  and  he  had  found  in  Jericho  the 
intolerance  that  had  dragged  him  out  of  the  Temple  at 
Jerusalem ;  circumcision  of  the  flesh  but  no  circumcision  of 
the  spirit.  .  .  .  But  here  !  He  had  been  led  to  the  Essenes 
by  God,  and  all  that  had  seemed  dark  the  night  before  now 
seemed  clear  to  him.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  in  his 
mind  that  the  Lord  wished  his  chosen  people  to  hear  the  truth 
before  his  servant  Paul  left  Palestine  for  ever.  He  had  been 
led  by  the  Lord  among  these  rocks,  perhaps  to  find  twelve 
disciples,  who  would  leave  their  rocks  when  they  heard 
the  truth  of  the  death  and  ascension  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
and  would  carry  the  joyful  tidings  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

THE  Essenes,  ten  in  number,  were  seated  in  an  embrasure. 
A  reader  had  been  chosen  (an  elder)  to  read  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  attention  of  the  community  was  now  engaged  in 
judgment  of  his  attempt  to  reconcile  two  passages,  one 
taken  from  Numbers  in  which  it  is  said  that  God  is  not  as 
man,  with  another  passage  taken  from  Deuteronomy  in 
which  God  is  said  to  be  as  man.  He  had  just  finished 
telling  the  brethren  that  these  two  passages  were  not  in 
contradiction,  the  second  being  introduced  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  multitude  and  not  because  the  nature  of  man  is 
as  God's  nature,  and,  on  second  thoughts,  he  added  :  nor 
must  it  be  forgotten  that  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  was 
written  when  we  were  a  wandering  tribe  come  out  of  the 
desert  of  Arabia,  without  towns  or  cities,  without  a  Temple, 
without  an  Ark  —  ours  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
Philistines.  He  continued  his  glosses  till  Mathias  held  up 
his  hand  and  asked  Hazael's  permission  to  speak  :  the  words 
that  had  been  quoted  from  Deuteronomy,  those  in  which 
the  Scriptures  speak  of  God  as  if  he  were  a  man,  attributing 
to  him  the  acts  and  motives  of  man,  were  addressed,  as 
our  reader  has  pointed  out,  to  men  who  had  hardly  advanced 
beyond  the  intelligence  of  childhood,  whose  minds  were 
still  simple  and  unable  to  receive  any  idea  of  God  except 
the  primitive  notion  that  God  is  a  greater  man.  Now  the 
reason  for  my  interruption  is  this :  I  should  like  to  point 
out  that  for  those  who  have  passed  beyond  this  stage, 
whose  intelligence  is  not  limited  to  their  imagination,  and 
whose  will  is  not  governed  by  selfish  fears  and  hopes,  there 

395 


396  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

is  another  lesson  in  the  words :  we  can  rise  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  God  as  an  absolute  Being,  of  whom  we  know 
only  that  he  is,  and  not  what  he  is,  and  this  is  what  is  meant 
when  God  is  spoken  of  by  the  name  I  am  that  I  am. 

Eleazor  was  minded  to  speak :  Mathias  begged  of  him 
not  to  withhold  his  thoughts,  but  to  speak  them,  and  it  was 
at  this  moment  that  Paul  entered,  walking  softly,  lest  his 
footsteps  should  interrupt  Eleazor,  whom  he  heard  say  that 
he  disagreed  with  the  last  part  of  Mathias'  speech,  inas- 
much as  it  would  be  against  the  word  of  the  Scriptures 
and  likewise  against  all  tradition  to  accept  God  as  no 
more  than  the  absolute  substance,  which  strictly  taken 
would  exclude  all  differences  and  relation,  even  the  differ- 
ences and  relation  of  subject  and  object  in  self-conscious- 
ness. I  shall  not  be  lacking  in  appreciation  of  the  wisdom 
of  our  learned  brother,  Paul  heard  him  say,  if  I  venture  to 
hold  to  the  idea  of  a  God  whom  we  know  at  least  to  be 
conscious,  for  he  says :  I  am,  a  statement  which  had  much 
interest  for  Paul ;  and  while  considering  it  he  heard  Manahem 
say :  it  is  hard  to  conceive  of  God  except  as  a  high  principle 
of  being  and  well-being  in  the  universe,  who  binds  all  things 
to  each  other  in  binding  them  to  himself.  Then  there  are 
two  Gods  and  not  one  God,  Saddoc  interposed  quickly, 
an  objection  to  which  Manahem  made  this  answer :  not  two 
Gods  but  two  aspects,  thereby  confuting  Saddoc  for  the 
moment,  who  muttered  :  two  aspects  which  have,  however, 
to  be  reduced  to  unity. 

Paul's  eyes  went  from  Saddoc  to  Mathias,  and  he  thought 
that  Mathias'  face  wore  an  expression  of  amused  contempt 
as  he  listened  and  called  upon  other  disputants  to  contribute 
their  small  thoughts  to  the  discussion.  Encouraged  by  a 
wave  of  his  hand,  Caleb  ventured  to  remark :  there  is  God 
and  there  is  the  word  of  God,  to  which  Hazael  murmured 
this  reply ;  there  is  only  one  God ;  one  who  watches  over 
his  chosen  people  and  over  all  the  other  nations  of  the  earth. 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  397 

But  does  God  love  the  other  nations  as  dearly  as  the  Hebrew 
people  ?  Manahem  asked,  and  Hazael  answered  him  :  we 
may  not  discriminate  so  far  into  the  love  of  God,  it  being 
infinite,  but  this  we  may  say,  that  it  is  through  the  Hebrew 
people  that  God  makes  manifest  his  love  of  mankind,  on 
condition,  let  it  be  understood,  of  their  obedience  to  his 
revealed  will.  And  if  I  may  add  a  few  words  to  the  idea 
so  eloquently  suggested  by  our  Brother  Mathias,  I  would 
say  that  God  is  the  primal  substance  out  of  which  all  things 
evolve.  But  these  words  must  not  be  taken  too  literally, 
thereby  refusing  to  God  a  personal  consciousness,  for  God 
knows  certainly  all  the  differences  and  all  the  relations,  and 
we  should  overturn  all  the  teaching  of  Scripture  and  lose 
ourselves  in  the  errors  of  Greek  philosophy  if  we  held  to  the 
belief  of  a  God,  absolute,  pure,  simple,  detached  from  all 
concern  with  his  world  and  his  people.  But  in  what  meas- 
ure, Manahem  asked,  laying  his  scroll  upon  his  knees  and 
leaning  forward,  his  long  chin  resting  on  his  hand,  in  what 
measure,  he  asked,  speaking  out  of  his  deepest  self,  are  we 
to  look  upon  God  as  a  conscious  being ;  if  Mathias  could 
answer  that  question  we  should  be  grateful,  for  it  is  the 
question  which  torments  every  Essene  in  the  solitude  of 
his  cell. 

Has  any  brother  here  a  word  to  say  ?  Now  you,  brother 
Caleb  .?  I  am  sure  there  is  a  thought  in  your  heart  that 
we  would  all  like  to  hear.  Brother  Saddoc,  I  call  upon 
thee !  Brother  Saddoc  seemed  to  have  no  wish  to  speak, 
but  Mathias  continued  to  press  him,  saying :  Brother 
Saddoc,  for  what  else  hast  thou  been  seeking  in  thy  scroll 
but  for  a  text  whereon  to  base  an  argument  ?  And  seeing 
that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  escape  from  the  fray  of 
argument,  Brother  Saddoc  answered  that  he  took  his  stand 
upon  Deuteronomy,  Do  we  not  read  that  the  Lord  thy 
God  that  goeth  before  thee  shall  fight  for  thee,  and  in  the 
desert  thou  hast  seen  that  he  bore  thee,  as  a  man  bears  his 


398  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

sons,  all  the  way  that  ye  went  till  ye  came  unto  this  place. 
But,  Saddoc,  Eleazor  interrupted,  has  forgotten  that  one 
of  the  leading  thoughts  in  this  discourse  is  that  the  words 
in  Deuteronomy  were  written  for  starving  tribes  that  came 
out  of  Arabia  rather  than  for  us  to  whom  God  has  given  the 
land  of  Canaan  ?  We  were  then  among  the  rudiments  of  the 
world  and  man  was  but  a  child,  incapable,  as  Mathias  has 
said,  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as  an  absolute  being.  But 
then,  answered  Saddoc,  the  Scriptures  were  not  written  for 
all  time.  Was  anything,  Mathias  murmured,  written  for 
all  time  ?  Paul  was  about  to  ask  himself  if  Mathias  num- 
bered God  among  the  many  things  that  time  wastes  away 
when  his  thought  was  interrupted  by  Manahem  asking  how 
we  are  to  understand  the  words,  the  heavens  were  created 
before  the  earth.  Do  the  Scriptures  mean  that  intelli- 
gence is  prior  to  sense  ?  Mathias'  face  lighted  up,  and, 
foreseeing  his  opportunity  to  make  show  of  his  Greek 
proficiency  he  begun :  heaven  is  our  intelligence  and  the 
earth  our  sensibility.  The  spirit  descended  into  matter, 
and  God  created  man  according  to  his  image,  as  Moses  said 
and  said  well,  for  no  creature  is  more  like  to  God  than 
man :  not  in  bodily  form  (God  is  without  body),  but  in 
his  intelligence;  for  the  intelligence  of  every  man  is  in  a 
little  the  intelligence  of  the  universe,  and  it  may  be  said 
that  the  intelligence  lives  in  the  flesh  that  bears  it  as  God 
himself  lives  in  the  universe,  being  in  some  sort  a  God  of 
the  body,  which  carries  it  about  like  an  image  in  a  shrine. 
Thus  the  intelligence  occupies  the  same  place  in  man  as 
the  great  President  occupies  in  the  universe  —  being  itself 
invisible  while  it  sees  everything,  and  having  its  own  es- 
sence hidden  while  it  penetrates  the  essences  of  all  other 
things.  Also,  by  its  arts  and  sciences,  it  finds  its  way 
through  the  earth  and  through  the  seas,  and  searches  out 
everything  that  is  contained  in  them.  And  then  again  it 
rises  on  wings  and,  looking  down  upon  the  air  and  all  its 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  399 

commotions,  it  is  borne  upwards  to  the  sky  and  the  revolv- 
ing heavens  and  accompanies  the  choral  dances  of  the 
planets  and  stars  fixed  according  to  the  laws  of  music. 
And  led  by  love,  the  guide  of  wisdom,  it  proceeds  still 
onward  till  it  transcends  all  that  is  capable  of  being  appre- 
hended by  the  senses,  and  rises  to  that  which  is  perceptible 
only  by  the  intellect.  And  there,  seeing  in  their  surpassing 
beauty  the  original  ideas  and  archetypes  of  all  the  things 
which  sense  finds  beautiful,  it  becomes  possessed  by  a  sober 
intoxication,  like  the  Corybantian  revellers,  and  is  filled 
with  a  still  stronger  longing,  which  bears  it  up  to  the  high- 
est summit  of  the  intelligible  world  till  it  seems  to  approach 
to  the  great  king  of  the  intelligible  world  himself.  And 
while  it  is  eagerly  seeking  to  behold  him  in  all  his  glory, 
rays  of  divine  light  are  pouring  forth  upon  it  which  by  their 
exceeding  brilliance  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  intelligence. 

Whilst  he  spoke  his  periods,  constructed  with  regard  for 
every  comma,  Mathias'  eyes  were  directed  so  frequently 
towards  Paul  that  Paul  could  not  but  think  that  Mathias 
was  vaunting  his  knowledge  of  Greek  expressly,  as  if  to 
reprove  him,  Paul,  for  the  Aramaic  idiom  that  he  had 
never  been  able  to  wring  out  of  his  Greek,  which  he  re- 
gretted, but  which,  after  hearing  Mathias,  he  would  not 
be  without ;  for  to  rid  himself  of  it  he  would  have  to  sac- 
rifice the  spirit  to  the  outer  form,  as  well  might  he  offer 
sacrifice  to  the  heathen  gods ;  and  he  could  not  take  his 
eyes  off  the  tall,  lean  figure  showing  against  the  blue  sky, 
for  Mathias  spoke  from  the  balcony,  flinging  his  grey  locks 
from  his  forehead,  uncertain  if  he  should  break  into  another 
eloquent  period  or  call  upon  Paul  to  speak.  He  was  curi- 
ous to  hear  Paul,  having  divined  a  quick  intelligence  beneath 
an  abrupt  form  that  was  withal  not  without  beauty;  he 
advanced  towards  Hazael  and,  leaning  over  his  chair,  whis- 
pered to  him.  He  is  telling,  Paul  said  to  himself,  that  it 
would  be  well  to  hear  me  as  I  am  about  to  start  for  Rome 


400  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

to  proclaim  the  truth  in  that  city  wherein  all  nations  as- 
semble. Well,  let  it  be  so,  since  it  was  to  this  I  was  called 
hither. 

Hazael  raised  his  eyes  and  was  about  to  ask  Paul  to 
speak,  but  at  that  moment  the  bakers  arrived  with  their 
bread  baskets,  and  the  Essenes  moved  from  the  deep  em- 
brasure in  the  wall  into  the  domed  gallery,  each  one  depart- 
ing into  his  cell  and  returning  clothed  in  a  white  garment 
and  white  veil.  Paul  was  about  to  withdraw,  but  Hazael 
said  to  him :  none  shares  this  repast  with  us ;  it  is  against 
the  rule;  but  so  many  of  the  rules  of  the  brethren  have 
been  set  aside  in  these  later  days  that,  with  the  consent 
of  all,  I  will  break  another  rule  and  ask  Paul  of  Tarsus 
to  sit  with  us  though  he  be  not  of  our  brotherhood,  for 
is  he  not  our  brother  in  the  love  of  God,  which  he  has 
preached  travelling  over  sea  and  land  with  it  for  ever  in 
his  mouth  for  the  last  twenty  years.  Preaching,  Paul 
answered,  the  glad  tidings  of  the  resurrection,  believing 
myself  to  have  been  bidden  by  the  same  will  of  God  that 
called  me  hither  and  saved  me  from  death  many  times 
that  I  might  continue  to  be  the  humble  instrument  of 
his  will.  I  will  tell  you  that  I  was  behoven  to  preach  in 
Jericho  —  called  out  of  myself  —  God  knowing  well  they 
would  not  hear  me  and  would  drive  me  into  the  moun- 
tains, and  turn  my  feet  by  night  to  this  place.  Be  it  so, 
Paul,  thou  shalt  tell  thy  story,  the  president  answered, 
and  the  cook  put  a  plate  of  lentils  before  the  brethren 
and  the  baker  set  by  each  plate  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  every- 
one waited  till  the  grace  had  been  repeated  before  he  tasted 
food.  The  peace,  concord  and  good  will;  all  that  he  had 
recommended  in  his  Epistles;  Paul  saw  around  him,  and 
he  looked  forward  to  teaching  the  Essenes  of  the  approach- 
ing end  of  the  world,  convinced  that  God  in  his  great  justice 
would  not  allow  him,  Paul,  to  leave  Palestine  without  every 
worthy  servant  hearing  the  truth.     So  he  was  impatient 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  401 

to  make  an  end  of  the  food  before  him,  for  the  sustenance 
of  the  body  was  of  little  importance  to  him,  its  only  use 
being  to  bear  the  spirit  and  to  fortify  it.  He  took  counsel 
therefore  with  himself  while  eating  as  to  the  story  he  should 
tell,  and  his  mind  was  ready  with  it  when  the  President 
said  :  Paul,  our  meal  is  finished  now ;  we  would  hear  thee. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

YESTERDAY  the  Jews  would  have  thrown  me  into  the 
Jordan  or  stoned  me  together  with  Timothy,  my  son  in 
the  faith,  who  instead  of  following  me  round  the  hill  shoul- 
der kept  straight  on  for  Caesarea,  where  I  pray  that  I  may 
find  him.  These  things  you  know  of  me,  for  three  of  the 
brethren  were  on  that  balcony  yesternight  when,  upheld 
by  the  will  of  God,  my  feet  were  kept  fast  in  the  path  that 
runs  round  this  ravine.  The  Jews  had  abandoned  their 
hunt  when  I  arrived  at  your  door,  awakening  fear  in  Brother 
Saddoc's  heart  that  I  was  a  robber  or  the  head  of  some 
band  of  robbers.  Such  thoughts  must  have  disturbed  his 
mind  when  he  saw  me,  and  they  were  not  driven  off  when 
I  declared  myself  a  prisoner  to  the  Romans ;  for  he  besought 
me  to  depart  lest  my  presence  should  bring  all  here  within 
the  grip  of  the  Roman  power.  A  hard  and  ruthless  power 
it  may  be,  but  less  bitter  than  the  power  which  the  Jews 
crave  from  the  Romans  to  compel  all  to  follow  not  the  Law 
alone,  but  the  traditions  that  have  grown  about  the  Law. 
But  you  brethren  who  send  no  fat  rams  to  the  Temple  for 
sacrifice,  but  worship  God  out  of  your  own  hearts,  will  have 
pity  for  me  who  have  been  persecuted  by  the  Jews  of  Jeru- 
salem (who  in  their  own  eyes  are  the  only  Jews)  for  no  rea- 
son but  that  I  preach  the  death  and  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  apostle  I  am,  being 
so  made  by  himself  when  he  spoke  to  me  out  of  the  clouds 
on  the  road  to  Damascus. 

Of  this  great  wonder  you  shall  hear  in  good  time,  but 
before  beginning  the  story  you  have  asked  me  to  relate 

402 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  403 

I  would  before  all  calm  Brother  Saddoc's  fears :  I  am  no 
prisoner  as  he  imagines  me  to  be,  but  am  under  the  law  to 
return  to  Caesarea,  having  appealed  to  Caesar  as  was  my 
right  to  do,  being  a  Roman  citizen  long  persecuted  by  the 
Jews ;  and  I  would  thank  you  for  the  blankets  I  enjoyed  last 
night  and  for  the  bread  I  have  broken  with  you.  Also  for 
the  promise  that  I  have  that  one  of  you  shall  at  nightfall 
put  me  on  the  way  to  Caesarea  and  accompany  me  part  of 
the  way,  so  that  I  may  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  my  enemies 
the  Jews,  of  Jerusalem,  but  shall  reach  Caesarea  to  take  ship 
for  Rome.  None  of  you  need  fear  anything;  you  have  my 
assurances ;  I  am  here  by  the  permission  of  the  noble  Festus. 
And  now  that  you  have  learnt  from  me  the  hazard  that 
cast  me  among  you  I  will  tell  you  that  I  am  a  Jew  like 
yourselves :  one  born  in  Tarsus,  a  great  city  of  Cilicia ; 
a  Roman  citizen  as  you  have  heard  from  me,  a  privilege 
which  was  not  bought  by  me  for  a  great  sum  of  money, 
nor  by  any  act  of  mine,  but  inherited  from  my  father,  a 
Hebrew  like  yourselves,  and  descended  from  the  stock  of 
Abraham  like  yourselves.  And  by  trade  a  weaver  of  that 
cloth  of  which  tents  are  made;  for  my  father  gave  me  that 
trade,  for  which  I  thank  him,  for  by  it  I  have  earned  my 
living  these  many  years,  in  various  countries  and  cities. 
At  an  early  age  I  was  a  skilful  hand  at  the  loom,  and  at  the 
same  time  learned  in  the  Scriptures,  and  my  father,  seeing 
a  Rabbi  in  me,  sent  me  to  Jerusalem,  and  while  I  was  taught 
the  Law  I  remember  hearing  of  the  Baptist,  and  the  priests 
of  the  Temple  muttering  against  him,  but  they  were  afraid 
to  send  men  against  him,  for  he  was  in  great  favour  with 
the  people.  Afterwards  I  returned  to  Tarsus,  where  I 
worked  daily  at  my  loom  until  tidings  came  to  that  city 
that  a  disciple  of  John  was  preaching  the  destruction  of 
the  Law,  saying  that  he  could  destroy  the  Temple  and 
build  it  up  again  in  three  days.  We  spoke  under  our  breaths 
in  Tarsus  of  this  m.an,  hardly  able  to  believe  that  anyone 


404  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

could  be  so  blasphemous  and  reprobate,  and  when  we 
heard  of  his  death  upon  a  cross  we  were  overjoyed  and 
thought  the  Pharisees  had  done  well;  for  we  were  full  of 
zeal  for  the  traditions  and  the  ancient  glory  of  our  people. 
We  believed  then  that  heresy  and  blasphemy  were  at  an 
end,  and  when  news  came  of  one  Stephen,  who  had  revived 
all  the  stories  that  Jesus  told,  that  the  end  of  the  world 
was  nigh  and  that  the  Temple  could  be  destroyed  and  built 
up  again,  I  laid  my  loom  aside  and  started  for  Jerusalem  in 
great  anger  to  join  with  those  who  would  root  out  the 
Nazarenes :  we  are  now  known  as  Christians,  the  name 
given  to  us  at  Antioch. 

I  was  telling  that  I  laid  aside  my  loom  in  Tarsus  and 
set  out  for  Jerusalem  to  aid  in  rooting  out  the  sect  that 
I  held  to  be  blasphemous  and  pernicious.  Now  on  the 
day  of  my  arrival  in  that  city,  while  coming  from  the  Temple 
I  saw  three  men  hurrying  by,  one  whose  face  was  white 
as  the  dead,  with  a  small  crowd  following;  and  everyone 
saying:  not  here,  not  here!  And  as  they  spoke  stones  were 
being  gathered,  and  I  knew  that  they  were  for  stoning  the 
man  they  had  with  them,  one  Stephen,  they  said,  who  had 
been  teaching  in  the  Temple  that  Jesus  was  born  and  died 
and  raised  from  the  dead,  and  that  since  his  death  the 
Law  is  of  no  account.  So  did  I  gather  news  and  with  it 
abhorrence,  and  followed  them  till  they  came  to  an  angle, 
at  which  they  said  :  this  corner  will  do.  Stephen  was  thrown 
into  it,  and  stones  of  all  kinds  were  heaped  upon  him  till 
one  spattered  his  brains  along  the  wall,  after  which  the 
crowd  muttered,  we  shall  have  no  more  of  them. 

That  day  I  was  of  the  crowd,  and  the  stone  that  spat- 
tered the  brains  of  Stephen  along  the  wall  seemed  to  me 
to  have  been  well  cast ;  I  hated  those  who  spoke  against 
the  Law  of  our  Fathers,  which  I  held  in  reverence,  as  essen- 
tial and  to  be  practised  for  all  time;  and  the  mild  stead- 
fastness in  their  faces,   and  the  great  love  that  shone  in 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  405 

their  eyes  when  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was 
mentioned,  instead  of  persuading  me  that  I  might  be  per- 
secuting saints,  exasperated  me  to  further  misdeeds.  I 
became  foremost  in  these  persecutions,  and  informed  by 
spies  of  the  names  of  the  saints,  I  made  search  in  their 
houses  at  the  head  of  armed  agents  and  dragged  them 
into  the  Synagogue,  compelHng  them  to  renounce  the 
truth  that  the  Messiah  had  come  which  had  been  prom- 
ised in  the  Scriptures.  Nor  was  I  satisfied  when  the 
last  Nazarene  had  been  rooted  out  of  Jerusalem,  but  cast 
my  eyes  forward  to  other  towns,  into  which  the  saints  might 
have  fled,  and,  hearing  that  many  were  in  Damascus,  I 
got  letters  from  the  chief  priests  and  started  forth  in  a 
fume  of  rage  which  I  strove  to  blow  up  with  the  threats 
of  what  we  would  put  the  saints  to  when  we  reached  Da- 
mascus. But  while  the  threats  were  on  my  lips  there  was 
in  my  heart  a  mighty  questioning,  from  which  I  did  not 
seem  to  escape,  perhaps  because  I  had  not  thrown  a  stone 
but  stood  by  an  approving  spectator  merely.  I  know  not 
how  it  was,  but  as  we  forded  the  Jordan  the  cruelties  that 
I  had  been  guilty  of,  the  inquisitions,  the  beatings  with 
rods,  the  imprisonment  —  all  these  things  rose  up  in  my 
mind,  a  terrible  troop  of  phantoms.  Gentle  faces  and 
words  of  forgiveness  floated  past  me  one  night  as  we  lay 
encamped  in  a  great  quarry,  and  I  asked  myself  again  if 
these  saints  were  what  they  seemed  to  be;  and  soon  after 
the  thought  crossed  my  mind  that  if  the  Nazarenes  were 
the  saints  that  they  seemed  to  be,  bearing  their  flogging  and 
imprisonments  with  fortitude,  without  complaint,  it  was 
of  persecuting  God  I  was  guilty,  since  all  goodness  comes 
from  God. 

I  had  asked  for  letters  from  Hanan,  the  High  Priest, 
that  would  give  me  the  right  to  arrest  all  ill  thinkers,  and 
to  lead  them  back  in  chains  to  Jerusalem,  and  these  letters 
seemed  to  take  fire  in  my  bosom,  and  when  we  came  in 


4o6  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

view  of  the  town,  and  saw  the  roofs  between  the  trees,  I 
heard  a  voice  crying  to  me :  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest 
thou  me  ?  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks ; 
and  trembling  I  fell  forward,  my  face  upon  the  ground, 
and  the  Lord  said :  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest. 
Arise,  and  go  into  the  city  and  it  shall  be  told  to  thee  what 
thou  must  do;  by  these  words  appointing  me  his  apostle 
and  establishing  my  rights  above  those  of  Peter  or  John 
or  James  or  any  of  the  twelve  who  walked  with  him  whilst 
he  lived  as  a  man  in  Galilee.  My  followers,  who  were 
merely  stricken,  but  not  blinded  as  I  was,  took  me  by  the 
arm  and  led  me  into  Damascus,  where  I  abode  as  a  blind 
man  till  Ananias  laid  his  hands  upon  me  and  the  scales  fell 
from  my  eyes,  and  I  cried  out  for  baptism,  and  having 
received  baptism,  which  is  spiritual  strength,  and  taken 
food,  which  is  bodily,  I  went  up  to  the  Synagogue  to  preach 
that  Jesus  is  the  son  of  God,  and  continued  till  the  Jews 
in  that  city  rose  up  against  me  and  would  have  killed  me 
if  I  had  not  escaped  by  night,  let  down  from  the  wall  in  a 
basket. 

From  Damascus  I  went  into  Arabia,  and  did  not  go 
up  to  Jerusalem  for  three  years  to  confer  with  the  apostles, 
nor  was  there  need  that  I  should  do  so,  for  had  I  not  received 
my  apostleship  by  direct  revelation  ?  But  after  three  years 
I  went  thither,  hearing  that  the  persecutions  had  ceased, 
and  that  some  of  those  whom  I  had  persecuted  had  returned. 
The  brother  of  Jesus,  James,  had  come  down  from  Galilee 
and  as  a  holy  man  was  a  great  power  in  Jerusalem.  His 
prayers  were  valued,  and  his  appearance  excited  pity  and 
belief  that  God  would  hearken  to  him  when  he  knelt,  for 
he  was  naked  but  for  a  coarse  cloth  hanging  from  his  neck 
to  his  ankles.  Of  water  and  cleanliness  he  knew  naught, 
and  his  beard  and  hair  grew  as  the  weeds  grow  in  the  fields. 
Peter,  too,  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  come  into  a  great  girth 
since  the  toil  of  his  craft,  as  a  fisher,  had  been  abandoned,  as 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  407 

it  had  to  be,  for,  as  ye  know,  it  is  dry  desert  about  Jerusalem 
without  lakes  or  streams.  But  he  lived  there  better  than 
he  had  ever  lived  before,  by  talking  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  of  whom  it  was  no  longer  a  danger  to  talk,  for  James 
had  made  his  brother  acceptable  in  Jerusalem  by  lopping 
from  him  all  that  was  Jesus,  making  him  according  to  his 
own  image;  with  these  Christians  he  no  longer  stood  up 
as  an  opponent  of  the  Law,  but  as  one  who  believed  in 
it,  who  had  said  :  I  come  not  to  abolish  the  Law  but  to 
confirm  it.  So  did  his  brother  James  interpret  Jesus  to 
me  who  had  heard  Jesus  speak  out  of  the  spirit,  and  when 
I  answered  that  he  had  said  too  that  he  had  come  to  abol- 
ish the  Law,  James  answered  only  that  his  brother  had  said 
many  things  and  that  some  were  not  as  wise  as  others. 
Peter,  who  was  called  upon  to  testify  that  Jesus  wished  the 
Jews  to  remain  Jews,  and  that  circumcision  and  all  the 
observances  were  needed,  answered  that  he  did  not  know 
which  was  the  truth,  Jesus  not  having  spoken  plainly  on 
these  matters,  and  neither  one  nor  the  other  seemed  to 
understand  that  it  was  of  no  avail  that  Jesus  should  have 
been  born,  should  have  died  and  been  raised  from  the  dead 
by  his  Father  if  the  Law  were  to  prevail  unchanged  for 
evermore.  To  James  and  to  Peter  Jesus  was  a  prophet, 
but  no  more  than  the  prophets,  and  unable  to  understand 
either  Peter  or  James,  I  returned  to  Tarsus  broken-hearted, 
for  there  did  not  seem  to  be  on  earth  a  true  Christian  but 
myself,  and  I  knew  not  whom  to  preach  to.  Gentiles  or 
Jews.  Only  of  one  thing  was  I  sure,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  had  spoken  to  me  out  of  the  clouds  and  ordained 
me  his  apostle,  but  he  had  not  pointed  out  the  way,  and 
I  mourned  that  I  had  gone  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  abode 
in  Tarsus  disheartened,  resuming  my  loom,  sitting  at  it 
from  daylight  till  dark,  waiting  for  some  new  sign  to  be 
given  me,  for  I  did  not  lose  hope  altogether,  but,  knowing 
well  that  the  ways  of  Providence  are  not  immediate,  waited 


4o8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

in  patience  or  in  such  patience  as  I  might  possess  myself  of. 
Barnabas  I  had  forgotten,  and  he  was  forgotten  when  I 
said  that  I  had  met  none  in  Jerusalem  that  could  be  said 
to  be  a  follower  of  the  Master. 

It  was  Barnabas  who  brought  me  to  James,  the  brother 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  Peter,  and  told  them  that  though  I 
had  persecuted  I  was  now  zealous,  and  had  preached  in 
many  synagogues  that  Christ  Jesus  had  died  and  been  raised 
from  the  dead.  But  whether  they  feared  me  as  a  spy,  one 
who  would  betray  them,  or  whether  it  was  that  our  minds 
were  divided  upon  many  things,  I  know  not,  but  Barnabas 
could  not  persuade  them,  and,  as  I  have  said,  I  left  Jeru- 
salem and  returned  to  Tarsus,  and  resumed  my  trade,  until 
Barnabas,  who  had  been  sent  to  Antioch  to  meet  some 
disciples,  said  to  them,  but  there  is  one  at  Tarsus  who  has 
preached  the  life  and  death  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
brought  many  to  believe  in  him.  So  they  said  to  him  :  go 
to  Tarsus  for  this  man  and  bring  him  hither.  And  when 
they  had  seen  and  conferred  with  me  and  knew  what  sort 
of  man  I  was,  Barnabas  said,  with  your  permission  and  your 
authority,  Paul  and  I  will  start  together  for  Cyprus,  for  that 
is  my  country,  and  my  friends  there  will  believe  us  when  we 
tell  them  that  Jesus  was  raised  from  the  dead  and  was  seen 
by  many  :  first  by  Martha  and  Mary,  the  sisters  of  Lazarus, 
and  afterwards  by  Peter  and  by  the  apostles  and  many 
others.  As  the  disciples  were  willing  that  we  should  go  to 
preach  the  Gospel  in  Cyprus,  we  went  thither  furnished  with 
letters,  and  received  a  kindly  welcome  from  everybody,  as  it 
had  been  foretold  by  Barnabas,  and  many  heard  the  Gospel, 
and  if  my  stay  among  you  Essenes  could  be  prolonged  be- 
yond this  evening  and  for  several  days  I  could  tell  you  stories 
of  a  great  magician  and  how  he  was  confuted  by  me  by  the 
Grace  of  God  working  through  me,  but  as  everything  can- 
not be  told  in  the  first  telling  I  will  pass  from  Cyprus  back 
to  Antioch,  where  we  rested  awhile,  so  that  we  might  tell 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  409 

the  brethren  of  the  great  joy  with  which  the  faith  had  been 
received  in  Cyprus,  of  the  Churches  we  founded  and  our 
promise  to  the  Cyprians  to  return  to  them. 

And  so  joyful  were  the  brethren  in  Antioch  at  our  suc- 
cess that  I  said  to  Barnabas :  let  us  not  tarry  here,  but  go 
on  into  Galatia.  We  set  out,  accompanied  by  John  Mark, 
Barnabas'  cousin,  but  he  left  us  at  Perga,  being  afraid,  and 
for  his  lack  of  courage  I  was  unable  to  forgive  him,  thereby 
estranging  myself  later  on  from  Barnabas,  a  God-fearing 
man.  But  to  tell  you  what  happened  at  Lystra.  We 
found  the  people  there  ready  to  listen  to  the  faith,  and  it 
was  given  to  me  to  set  a  cripple  that  had  never  walked  in 
his  life  straight  upon  his  feet,  and  as  sturdily  as  any.  The 
people  cried  out  at  this  wonder,  the  Gods  have  come  down 
to  us,  and  when  the  rumour  reached  the  High  Priest  that 
the  Gods  had  come  to  their  city,  he  drove  out  two  oxen, 
garlanded,  and  would  have  sacrificed  them  in  our  honour, 
but  we  tore  our  garments,  saying,  we  are  men  like  your- 
selves and  have  come  to  preach  that  you  should  turn  from 
vanities  and  false  gods  and  worship  the  one  true  living  God, 
who  created  the  earth,  and  all  the  firmament.  The  people 
heard  us  and  promised  to  abjure  their  idolatries,  and  would 
have  abjured  them  for  ever  if  the  Jews  from  the  neighbour- 
ing cities  had  not  heard  of  our  preaching  and  had  not  gath- 
ered together  and  denounced  us  in  Lystra,  where  there  were 
no  Jews,  or  very  few.  Nor  were  they  content  with  de- 
nouncing us,  but  on  a  convenient  occasion  dragged  Barna- 
bas and  myself  outside  the  town,  stoned  us  and  left  us  for 
dead,  for  we,  knowing  that  God  required  us,  feigned  death, 
thereby  deceiving  them  and  escaping  death.  We  returned 
to  the  town  by  night  and  left  it  next  day  for  Derbe. 

Now,  Essenes,  this  story  that  I  tell  of  what  happened 
to  us  at  Lystra  has  been  told  with  some  care  by  me,  for  it 
is  significant  of  what  has  happened  to  me  for  twenty  years, 
since  the  day,  as  you  have  heard,  when  the  Lord  Jesus 


410  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

himself  spoke  to  me  out  of  the  clouds  and  appointed  me 
to  preach  the  gospel  he  had  given  unto  me,  which,  upheld 
by  him,  I  have  preached  faithfully,  followed  wherever  I 
went  by  persecution  from  Jews  determined  to  undo  my 
work.  But  undeterred  by  stones  and  threats,  we  returned 
to  Lystra  and  preached  there  again,  and  in  Perga  and 
Attalia,  from  thence  we  sailed  to  Antioch,  and  there  were 
great  rejoicings  in  Saigon  Street,  as  we  sat  in  the  door- 
ways teUing  of  the  Churches  that  we  founded  in  Galatia, 
and  how  we  flung  open  the  door  of  truth  to  the  pagans, 
and  how  many  had  passed  through. 

But  some  came  from  Jerusalem  preaching  that  the  un- 
circumcised  could  not  hope  for  salvation,  and  that  there 
could  be  no  conversion  unless  the  Law  be  observed,  and 
the  first  observance  of  the  Law,  they  said,  is  circumcision. 
We  answered  them  as  is  our  wont  that  it  is  no  longer  by 
observances  of  the  Law  but  by  grace,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  men  may  be  saved ;  and  we  being  un- 
able to  yield  to  them  or  they  to  us,  it  was  resolved  that 
Barnabas  and  Titus,  a  Gentile  that  we  brought  over  to  the 
faith,  should  go  to  Jerusalem. 

On  the  way  thither  we  preached  that  the  Saviour  prom- 
ised to  the  Jews  had  come,  and  been  raised  from  the  dead, 
and  the  Samaritans  hearkened  and  were  converted  in  great 
numbers,  and  the  news  of  these  conversions  preceding 
us  the  joy  among  the  brethren  was  very  great,  for  you, 
who  know  the  Scriptures,  need  not  be  told  that  the  con- 
version of  the  Gentiles  has  been  foretold ;  nor  was  it  till 
we  began  to  talk  about  the  abrogation  of  the  Law  that 
James  and  the  followers  of  James  rose  up  against  us.  We 
wondered,  and  said  to  each  other :  were  ever  two  brothers 
as  unlike  as  these  ?  Though  myself  had  never  seen  the 
Lord  in  the  flesh,  I  knew  of  him  from  Peter,  and  we  whis- 
pered together  with  our  eyes  fixed  on  the  long,  lean  man 
whose  knees  were   reported   callous  from  kneeling  in  the 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  411 

Temple  praying  that  God  might  not  yet  awhile  destroy 
the  world.  It  was  sufficient,  so  it  was  said,  for  him  to 
hold  up  his  hand  to  perform  miracles,  and  we  came  to 
dislike  him  and  to  remember  that  he  had  always  looked 
upon  Jesus  our  Lord  with  suspicion  during  his  lifetime. 
Why  then,  we  asked,  should  he  come  into  power  derived 
from  his  brother's  glory  ? 

He  seemed  to  be  less  likely  than  any  other  Jew  to  under- 
stand the  new  truth  born  into  the  world.  So  I  turned 
from  him  to  Peter,  in  whom  I  thought  to  find  an  advocate, 
knowing  him  to  be  one  with  us  in  this,  saying  that  it  were 
vain  to  ask  the  Gentiles  to  accept  a  yoke  which  the  Hebrews 
themselves  had  been  unable  to  bear;  but  Peter  was  still 
the  timid  man  that  he  had  ever  been,  and  myself  being 
of  small  wit  in  large  and  violent  assemblies  said  to  him : 
thou  and  I  and  James  will  consult  together  in  private 
at  the  end  of  this  uproar.  But  James  could  not  come  to 
my  reason,  saying  always  that  the  Gentiles  must  become 
Jews  before  they  became  Christians ;  and  remembering 
very  well  all  the  trouble  and  vexation  the  demand  for  the 
circumcision  of  Titus  had  put  upon  me  (to  which  I  can- 
sented,  for  with  a  Jew  I  am  a  Jew  so  that  I  may  gain  them), 
and  how  he  had  submitted  himself  lest  he  should  be  a 
stumbling-block,  I  said  to  Timothy,  my  own  son  in  the 
faith,  thy  mother  and  grandmother  were  hearers  of  the 
Law,  and  he  answered,  let  me  be  a  Jew  externally,  and 
myself  took  and  circumcised  him.  A  good  accommodation 
Peter  thought  this  to  be,  and  I  said  to  Peter,  henceforth 
for  thee  the  circumcised  and  for  me  the  uncircumcised. 
Against  which  Peter  and  James  had  nothing  to  say,  for  it 
seemed  to  them  that  the  uncircumcised  were  one  thing 
in  Jerusalem  and  another  thing  beyond  Jerusalem,  But 
I  was  glad  thus  to  come  to  terms  with  them,  thinking 
thereby  to  obtain  from  them  the  confirmation  of  my  apostle- 
ship,  though  there  was  no  need  for  any  such,  as  I  have 


412  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

always  held,  it  having  been  bestowed  upon  me  by  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  himself;  and  holding  it  to  be  of  little  account 
that  they  had  known  our  Lord  Jesus  in  the  flesh,  I  said 
to  their  faces,  it  were  better  to  have  known  him  in  the 
spirit,  thereby  darkening  them.  It  might  have  been  better 
to  have  held  back  the  words. 

Myself  and  Barnabas  and  Titus  returned  to  Antioch 
and  it  was  some  days  after  that  I  said  to  Barnabas,  let  us 
go  again  into  the  cities  in  which  we  have  preached  and  see 
if  the  brethren  abide  in  our  teaching  and  how  they  do 
with  it.  But  Barnabas  would  bring  John  Mark  with  him, 
he  who  had  left  us  before  in  Perga  from  cowardice  of  soul. 
Therefore  I  chose  Silas  and  departed.  '  He  was  our  warrant 
that  we  were  one  with  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  which 
was  true  inasmuch  as  we  were  willing  to  yield  all  but 
essential  things,  so  that  everybody,  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
might  be  brought  into  communion  with  Jesus  Christ. 

We  went  together  to  Lystra  and  My  si  a,  preaching  in  all 
these  towns,  and  the  brethren  were  confirmed  in  their  faith 
in  us,  and  leaving  them  we  were  about  to  set  out  for  Bithynia 
and  would  have  gone  thither  had  we  not  been  warned  one 
night  by  the  Holy  Breath  to  go  back,  and  instead  we  went 
to  Troas,  where  one  night  a  vision  came  to  me  in  my  sleep : 
a  man  stood  before  me  at  the  foot  of  my  bed,  a  Macedonian 
I  knew  him  to  be,  by  his  dress  and  speech,  for  he  spoke  not 
the  broken  Greek  that  I  speak,  but  pure  Greek,  the  Greek 
that  Mathias  speaks,  and  he  told  me  that  we  were  to  go  over 
into  Macedonia, 

To  tell  of  all  the  countries  we  visited  and  the  towns  in 
which  we  preached,  and  the  many  that  were  received  into 
the  faith,  would  be  a  story  that  would  carry  us  through  the 
night  and  into  the  next  day,  for  it  would  be  the  story  of  my 
life,  and  every  life  is  long  when  it  is  put  into  words;  nor 
would  the  story  be  profitable  unto  you  in  any  great  measure, 
though  it  be  full  of  various  incidents.      But  I  am  behoven 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  413 

to  tell  that  wherever  we  went  the  persecution  that  began  in 
Lystra  followed  us.  As  soon  as  the  Jews  heard  of  our  con- 
versions they  assembled  either  to  assault  us  or  to  lay  com- 
plaints before  the  Roman  magistrates,  as  they  did  at  Philippi, 
the  chief  city  of  Macedonia.  Among  my  miracles  was  the 
conversion  of  a  slave,  a  pythonist,  a  teller  of  fortunes,  a 
caster  of  horoscopes,  who  brought  her  master  good  money 
by  her  divinations,  and  seeing  that  he  would  profit  thereby 
no  longer,  he  drew  myself  and  Silas  into  the  market-place  and 
calling  for  help  of  others  had  us  brought  before  the  rulers, 
and  the  pleading  of  the  man  was,  and  he  was  supported  by 
others,  that  we  taught  many  things  that  it  was  not  lawful 
for  them,  being  Jews,  to  hearken  to,  and  the  magistrates, 
wishing  to  please  the  multitude,  commanded  us  to  be  beaten, 
and  when  many  stripes  had  been  laid  on  us  we  were  cast  into 
prison,  and  the  jailer  being  charged  to  keep  us  in  safety 
thrust  our  feet  into  the  stocks. 

Myself  and  Silas  prayed  and  sang  praises  unto  God 
despite  our  wounds,  and  as  if  in  response  there  was  a  great 
earthquake,  and  the  prison  was  shaken  and  all  the  doors 
opened,  on  seeing  which  the  keeper  of  the  prison  drew  his 
sword  and  would  have  fallen  upon  it,  believing  that  the 
prisoners  had  fled,  if  I  had  not  cried  to  him  in  a  loud  voice : 
there  is  no  reason  to  kill  thyself,  for  thy  charges  are  here. 
What  may  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  he  said,  being  greatly  astonished 
at  the  miracle,  and  we  answered  :  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Thereupon  he  invited  us  into  his  house  and  set 
food  before  us,  and  he  was  baptized  and  bidden  to  have  no 
fear,  for  we  confided  to  him  that  we  were  Romans,  and  that 
the  magistrates  would  tremble  when  they  heard  that  they 
had  ordered  a  citizen  of  Rome  to  be  beaten  and  him  uncon- 
demned.  Why,  he  asked,  did  ye  not  declare  yourselves  to 
be  Romans !  Because,  we  answered,  we  were  minded  to 
suffer  for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  at  which  he  wondered 
and  gave  thanks.     He  was  baptized  by  us,  and  when  he  had 


414  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

carried  the  news  of  their  mistake  to  the  ears  of  the  magis- 
trates they  sent  sergeants  saying  that  we  were  to  be  allowed 
to  go.  But  we  refused  to  leave  the  prison,  saying,  we  are 
Romans  and  have  been  beaten  uncondemned.  Let  the 
magistrates  come  to  fetch  us.  Which  message  being  taken 
to  them  they  came  beseeching  us  to  go,  and  not  to  injure 
them,  for  they  had  done  wrong  unwittingly,  and  taking  pity 
of  them  for  the  sake  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  passed  into 
Thessalonica,  where  I  preached  in  the  synagogues  for  three 
Sabbaths  and  reasoned  with  the  Jews,  showing  them  pas- 
sages in  Scriptures  confirming  all  that  we  said  to  them  about 
the  Christ  that  had  suffered  and  been  raised  from  the  dead. 
Some  believed,  and  others  assaulted  the  house  of  Jason,  in 
which  we  were  living,  and  the  Romans  were  perplexed  to 
know  how  to  keep  order,  for  wherever  we  went  there  were 
stirs  and  quarrels  among  the  Jews,  the  fault  being  with  them 
and  not  with  us.  In  Corinth  too  the  Jews  pleaded  against 
us  before  the  Roman  magistrates  and 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

A  SUDDEN  dryness  in  Paul's  throat  prevented  him  from 
finishing  his  sentence,  and  he  asked  for  a  cup  of  water,  and 
having  drained  it  he  put  down  the  cup  and  said,  looking 
round,  I  was  speaking  to  you  about  Corinth.  The  moment 
seemed  a  favourable  one  to  Mathias  to  ask  a  question. 
How  was  it,  he  said,  that  you  passed  on  to  Corinth  with- 
out stopping  at  Athens  ?  I  made  stay  at  Athens,  Paul 
answered,  and  I  thank  you,  Mathias,  for  having  reminded 
me  of  Athens,  for  the  current  of  my  discourse  had  borne 
me  past  that  city,  so  eager  was  I  to  tell  of  the  persecutions 
of  the  Jews,  We  are  all  Jews  here !  I  speak  only  of  the 
Hierosolymites  who  understand  only  that  the  Law  has  been 
revealed,  and  we  have  only  to  follow  it ;  though,  indeed, 
some  of  them  cannot  tell  us  why  we  should  follow  any  law, 
since  they  do  not  believe  in  any  life  except  the  sad  life  we 
lead  on  the  surface  of  this  earth. 

But  you  asked  me,  Mathias,  about  Athens.  A  city  of 
graven  images  and  statues  and  altars  to  gods.  On  raising 
my  eyes  I  always  saw  their  marble  deities  —  effigies,  they 
said,  of  all  the  spirits  of  the  earth  and  sea  and  the  clouds 
above  the  earth  and  the  heavens  beyond  the  clouds.  Where- 
upon I  answered  that  these  statues  that  they  had  carved 
with  their  hands  could  in  no  wise  resemble  any  gods  even 
if  the  gods  had  existence  outside  of  their  images,  for  none 
sees  God.  Moses  heard  God  on  Mount  Sinai,  but  he  saw 
only  the  hinderparts ;  which   is   an   allegory,   for  there   are 

two  covenants,  and  I  come  to  reveal Whereat  they 

were  much  amused  and  said:  if  Moses  saw  the  hinderparts 

41S 


4i6  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

why  should  we  not  see  the  faces,  for  our  eyes  see  beauty, 
whereas  the  Hebrews  see  but  the  backside  ?  At  which  I 
showed  no  anger,  for  they  were  not  Jews,  but  strove,  as  it 
is  my  custom,  to  be  all  things  to  all  men.  The  Jews  require 
a  miracle,  the  Greeks  demand  reason,  and  therefore  I  asked 
them  why  they  set  up  altars  to  the  unknowable  God.  And  ' 
they  said  :  Paul,  thou  readest  our  language  as  badly  as  thou 
speakest  it:  we  have  inscriptions  "to  unknown  gods"  but 
not  to  the  unknowable  God.  Didst  go  to  school  at  Tarsus, 
yet  canst  not  tell  the  plural  from  the  singular  ^  To  which 
I  answered :  then  you  are  so  religious-minded  that  you 
would  not  offend  any  God  whose  name  you  might  not  have 
heard,  and  so  favour  him  by  the  inscription  to  an  unknown 
God  .''  But  some  of  your  philosophers,  Athenians,  call  God 
unknowable.  I  knew  this  before  I  learnt  how  superstitious 
ye  are.  Ye  are  all  alike  ignorant  since  God  left  you  to  your 
sins  for  your  idolatry;  God,  unknown  or  unknowable,  has 
been  made  manifest  to  us  by'our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
born  like  us  all  for  a  purpose,  his  death  which  was  to  save  the 
world  from  its  sins,  whereupon,  greedy  for  a  story,  they 
began  to  listen  to  me,  and  I  had  their  attention  till  I  came  to 
these  words  —  "And  was  raised  by  his  Father  from  the 
dead."  Paul,  they  answered,  we  will  listen  another  day  to 
the  rest  of  this  story  of  thy  new  divinity. 
I  A  frivolous  people,  Mathias,  living  in  a  city  of  statues 
in  the  air,  and  in  the  streets  below  a  city  of  men  that  seek 
after  reason,  and  would  explain  all  things  in  the  heavens 
above  and  the  earth  beneath  by  their  reason,  and  only 
willing  to  listen  to  the  story  of  a  miracle  because  miracles 
amuse  them.  A  race  much  given  to  enjoyment,  like  women, 
Mathias,  and  among  their  mountains  they  are  not  a  different 
race  from  what  they  are  in  the  city,  but  given  to  milking 
goats  and  dancing  in  the  shade  to  the  sounds  of  a  pipe,  and 
dreaming  over  the  past  glories  of  Athens,  that  are  dust  to- 
day though  yesterday  they  were  realities,  a  light  race  that 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  417 

will  be  soon  forgotten,  and  convinced  of  their  transience  I 
departed  for  Corinth,  a  city  of  fencing  masters,  merchants, 
slaves,  courtesans,  yet  a  city  more  willing  to  hearken  to  the 
truth  than  the  light  Athenians,  perhaps  because  it  has  much 
commerce  and  is  not  slothful  in  business,  a  city  wherein  I 
fortuned  upon  a  pious  twain,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  of  our 
faith,  and  of  the  same  trade  as  myself,  wherefore  we  set  up 
our  looms  together  in  one  house  and  sold  the  cloths  as  we 
weaved  them,  getting  our  living  thereby  and  never  costing 
the  faithful  anything,  which  was  just  pride,  and  mine  always, 
for  I  have  travelled  the  world  over  gaining  a  living  with  my 
own  hands,  never  taking  money  from  anybody,  though  it 
has  been  offered  to  me  in  plenty  by  the  devout,  thinking  it 
better  to  be  under  no  obligation,  for  such  destroys  inde- 
pendence. .  .  . 

Once  only  was  this  rule  broken  by  me.     In  Macedonia, 

a  dyer  of  purple But  Lydia's  story  concerns  ye  not, 

therefore  I  will  leave  her  story  untold  and  return  to  Corinth, 
to  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  weavers  like  myself,  with  whom  I 
worked  for  eighteen  months,  and  more  than  that ;  preaching 
the  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  all 
who  would  hear  us  when  our  daily  work  was  done,  until  the 
same  fate  befell  us  —  the  intervention  of  the  Jews,  who 
sought  to  embroil  us,  as  beforetimes,  with  the  Romans. 

We  preached  in  the  synagogues  on  the  Sabbath  and  I 
upheld  the  faith  I  had  come  to  preach :  that  the  Messiah 
promised  to  the  Jews  had  lived  and  had  died  for  us.  Where- 
upon there  was  a  great  uproar  among  the  Jews,  who  would 
not  believe,  and  so  I  tore  my  garments  and  said  :  then  I  will 
go  forth  to  the  Gentiles,  and  find  believers  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  leave  you  who  were  elected  by  God  as  his  chosen 
people,  who  were  his  by  adoption,  a  privilege  conferred  upon 
you  throughout  the  centuries,  the  race  out  of  whom  came 
the  patriarchs,  and  Jesus  Christ  himself  in  the  flesh.  I  will 
leave  you,  for  you  are  not  worthy  and  will  perish  as  all  flesh 

2  E 


41 8  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

perishes;  will  drift  into  nothingness,  and  be  scattered  even 
as  the  dust  of  the  road  is  scattered  by  the  winds.  My  heart 
is  broken  for  you,  but  since  ye  will  it  so,  let  it  be  so. 

So  did  I  speak,  but  my  heart  is  often  tenderer  than  my 
words,  and  I  strove  again  to  be  reconciled  with  the  Jews, 
and  abode  in  Corinth  proving  their  folly  to  them  by  the 
Scriptures  till  again  they  sought  to  rid  themselves  of  me  by 
means  of  the  Romans,  saying  before  Gallio :  this  fellow 
persuadeth  men  to  worship  God  contrary  to  the  Law.  But 
Gallio,  understanding  fully  that  his  judgment  seat  had  not 
been  set  up  for  the  settling  of  disputes  of  the  spirit,  but  of 
the  things  of  this  world,  drove  the  Jews  out  of  his  court, 
and  there  was  an  uproar  and  Sosthenes,  a  God-fearing  man, 
was  beaten.  Yet  for  the  sake  of  the  race  of  the  patriarchs, 
the  chosen  people  of  God,  I  abode  in  Corinth  till  the  close 
of  the  second  year,  when  news  reached  me  of  the  many  dis- 
sensions that  had  arisen  in  Jerusalem. 

The  old  questions  always  stirring :  whether  the  Gentiles 
should  be  admitted  without  circumcision  and  if  the  observ- 
ances of  the  Law  were  sufficient;  if  salvation  could  be  ob- 
tained by  works  without  faith,  and  many  other  questions 
that  I  thought  had  long  been  decided  ;  in  the  hope  of  putting 
an  end  to  these  discussions,  which  could  only  end  in  schism, 
I  bade  the  brethren  good-bye  on  the  wharf,  and,  shaving  my 
head  as  a  sign  of  my  vow  to  keep  the  Feast  of  Pentecost,  I 
set  sail  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla  for  Syria  and  left  them  at 
Ephesus,  though  there  were  many  Christians  there  who 
prayed  me  to  remain  and  speak  to  them ;  but  pointing  to 
my  shaved  head,  I  said,  my  vow !  and  went  down  to  Jeru- 
salem and  kept  the  Feast  of  Pentecost  and  distributed 
money  among  the  poor,  which  had  been  given  to  me  by  the 
Churches  founded  by  me  in  Macedonia,  in  Greece  and 
Syria. 

I  hoped  to  escape  from  discussion  with  James,  the  brother 
of  the  Lord,  for  of  what  good  could  it  be  to  discuss  once 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  419 

again  thirtgs  on  which  it  is  our  nature  to  think  differently, 
but  upheld  by  hope  that  the  Jews  might  be  numbered  among 
the  faithful  at  the  last  day  I  told  him  that  the  Jews  were 
the  root  of  the  olive-trees  whose  branches  had  been  cut,  and 
had  received  grafts,  but  let  not  the  grafts,  I  said,  indulge  in 
vainglory ;  it  is  not  the  branches  that  bear  the  root,  but  the 
root  that  bears  the  branches.  And  many  other  things  of 
this  sort  did  I  say,  wishing  to  be  in  all  things  conciliatory; 
to  be,  as  usual,  all  things  to  all  men ;  but  James,  the  brother 
of  the  Lord,  answered  that  Jesus  had  not  come  to  abrogate 
the  Law  but  to  confirm  it,  which  was  not  true,  for  the  Law 
stood  in  no  need  of  confirmation,  James  could  do  that 
as  well  as  his  brother  and  better,  and  Peter  not  being  there 
to  bear  witness  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  (he  too  had  gone 
forth  upon  a  mission  with  John  Mark  as  an  interpreter,  for 
Peter  cannot  speak  Greek),  Silas,  who  was  with  me,  was 
won  over  by  James,  and  easily,  for  Silas  was  originally  of 
the  Church  of  Jerusalem ;  as  I  have  already  told  you,  he 
had  been  sent  with  us  to  Antioch. 

But  I  would  not  weary  you  with  such  small  matters  as 
Silas'  desertion  of  me  to  join  Peter,  who  was  preaching 
in  Syria,  and  whose  doctrine  he  said  was  nearer  to  Jesus' 
than  mine,  it  having  been  given  to  him  by  Jesus,  whom 
he  had  known  in  the  flesh.  So  be  it,  I  said  to  Silas,  and 
went  without  him  to  Antioch,  a  city  dear  to  me  for  that 
it  was  there  the  word  Christian  was  spoken  for  the  first 
time;  my  return  thither  was  fortunate,  for  there  I  met 
Barnabas,  whom  it  was  pleasant  after  these  many  years  to 
meet  again,  all  memory  of  our  dissension  was  forgotten, 
which  was  no  great  matter,  it  having  arisen  out  of  no  deeper 
cause  than  my  refusal  to  travel  with  John  Mark,  his  cousin. 
Titus  was  there  too,  and  we  had  much  to  tell  each  other  of 
our  travels  and  the  conversions  we  had  made,  and  all  was 
joy  amongst  us ;  and  our  joy  was  increased  by  Peter,  who 
appeared  amongst  us,  bringing  Silas  with  him,  who  must 


420  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

have  been  grieved  though  he  said  nothing  to  me  of  it ;  but 
who  must  have  seen  that  the  law  to  which  he  was  attached 
was  forgotten  at  Antioch,  not  by  us  only,  but  by  his  new 
leader,  Peter,  who  mixed  like  ourselves  with  the  Gentiles 
and  did  not  refuse  to  eat  with  them. 

A  moment  indeed  of  great  joy  this  was,  but  it  did  not 
last  longer  than  many  other  moments  of  the  same  kind  with 
which  my  life  has  been  sprinkled.  James,  the  brother  of 
the  Lord,  sent  up  agents  to  Antioch  with  letters  signed  by 
himself.  They  had  come  to  tell  the  people  that  I  had  not 
authority  to  teach,  and  could  not  be  considered  by  anybody 
as  a  true  apostle,  for  I  had  not  known  the  Christ,  it  was  said : 
and  when  I  answered  them  that  my  authority  came  straight 
from  him,  they  began  to  make  little  of  my  revelation,  saying : 
even  if  thou  didst  hear  the  Christ  on  the  road  to  Damascus, 
as  thou  sayest,  it  was  but  for  a  few  minutes,  and  he  couldn't 
teach  thee  all  his  doctrine  in  a  few  minutes.  A  year  or 
more  would  be  required.  Thou  wast  deceived.  No  vision 
can  be  taken  as  of  equal  evidence  to  the  senses.  Those 
that  we  see  in  a  vision  may  be  but  the  evil  spirits  that, 
if  it  were  possible,  would  deceive  the  very  elect.  If  we 
question  an  apparition  it  answers  anything  that  we  wish. 
The  spectre  shines  for  an  instant  and  disappears  quickly 
before  one  has  time  to  put  further  questions ;  the  thoughts 
of  the  dreamer  are  not  under  his  control.  To  see  the  Son 
of  God  outside  of  the  natural  flesh  is  impossible.  Even  an 
angel  wishing  to  be  seen  has  to  clothe  himself  in  flesh.  Nor 
were  they  satisfied  with  such  sayings  as  these,  but  mentioned 
the  vision  of  infidels  and  evil  livers,  and  to  support  their 
argument  they  quoted  Scripture,  proving  that  God  sent 
visions  when  he  was  irritated.  As  in  Numbers,  murmured 
Eleazor.  And  likewise  in  Exodus,  said  Manahem,  and  he 
turned  over  the  quires  before  him.  These  emissaries  and 
agents  asked  me  how  it  was  that  even  if  Jesus  had  appeared  to 
me  he  could  not  have  instructed  me  wrongly.     If  I  wished 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  421 

to  prove  the  truth  of  my  vision  it  were  better  for  me  to  ac- 
cept the  teaching  of  the  apostles,  who  had  received  it  directly 
from  him ;  to  which  I  made  answer :  my  revelation  was 
not  from  Jesus  when  he  lived  in  the  flesh,  but  from  the  spir- 
itual Jesus ;  the  spirit  descended  out  of  heaven  to  instruct 
me,  and  if  God  has  created  us,  which  none  will  deny,  he  has 
created  our  souls  wherewith  to  know  him,  and  he  needs  not 
the  authority  of  other  apostles  who  speak  as  men,  falling  into 
the  errors  that  men  must  fall  into  when  they  speak,  for  every 
man's  truth  is  made  known  unto  him  by  God. 

One  day  we  came  out  of  a  house  heated  with  argument, 
and  as  we  loitered  by  the  pavement's  edge  regretting  we  had 
not  said  certain  things  whereby  we  might  have  confuted 
each  other,  we  came  upon  Peter  in  a  public  inn,  eating  and 
drinking  with  the  uncircumcised,  whereupon  the  Hierosoly- 
mites  said  :  we  see  now  what  ye  are,  Peter,  a  Jew  that  eats 
with  Gentiles  and  of  unclean  meats.  Peter  did  not  with- 
stand them  and  say  as  he  should  have  done :  how  is  it  that 
you  call  them  that  God  has  made  unclean  ?  but  being  a 
timid  man  and  anxious  always  to  avoid  schism,  he  excused 
himself  and  withdrew,  and  was  followed  by  Barnabas  and 
Silas. 

It  was  for  this  that  I  withstood  him  before  all  in  the 
assembly,  reproaching  him  for  his  inconsequences,  saying 
to  him  :  if  thou  that  art  a  Jew  livest  according  to  the  manner 
of  Gentiles,  how  is  it  that  thou  wouldst  compel  the  Gentiles 
to  live  as  the  Jews,  do  ?  and  until  this  man  came  thou  wert 
one  with  us,  saying  as  we  say,  that  none  is  justified  by  con- 
forming to  the  Law  and  practising  it,  but  by  the  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  But  if  we  seek  justification  in  Christ,  and  in 
him  alone,  and  yet  are  found  to  be  sinners,  of  what  help  is 
Christ  then  to  us  ?  Is  he  a  minister  of  sinners  ?  God 
forbid  !  By  his  life  and  death  he  abolished  the  Law,  whereby 
we  might  live  in  faith  in  Christ,  for  the  Law  stands  between 
us  and  Christ.     I  say  unto  thee,  Peter,  that  if  Christ  was 


422  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

crucified  for  me  I  live  in  Christ;  no  longer  my  own  life  of 
the  flesh,  but  the  spiritual  life  that  Christ  has  given  me.  I 
say  unto  thee  likewise,  that  if  we  care  only  to  know  Christ 
through  the  Law  then  Christ  has  died  in  vain.  To  which 
Peter  answered  nothing,  but  went  his  way,  as  is  his  custom, 
in  silence,  and  my  grief  was  great ;  for  I  could  see  that  the 
many  were  shocked,  and  wondered  at  our  violence,  and 
could  not  have  said  else  than  that  we  were  divided  among 
ourselves,  though  they  said  it  under  their  breath.  Nor  did 
peace  come  till  the  emissaries  of  James  left  us  to  go  to  the 
Churches  I  had  founded  in  Galatia  and  undo  the  work  I 
had  done  there.  Whereupon  I  collected  all  my  thoughts 
for  an  epistle  that  would  comfort  those,  and  enable  them 
to  resist,  saying :  though  an  angel  from  heaven  tell  you  a 
different  doctrine  from  the  one  that  I  have  taught  you, 
listen  not  to  him.  Copies  of  this  letter  were  sent  to  the 
Churches  that  I  had  founded,  but  the  sending  of  the  letter 
did  not  calm  my  anger.  An  angry  soul  I  have  been  since 
God  first  separated  me  from  my  mother's  womb,  gaining 
something  on  one  side  and  losing  on  the  other  side;  but 
we  make  not  ourselves ;  God  makes  us.  And  there  is  a 
jealousy  still  within  me;  I  know  it  and  have  suffered  from 
it,  and  never  did  it  cause  me  greater  suffering  than  in 
those  days  in  Antioch.  My  jealousy  was  like  a  hungry 
animal,  gnawing  at  my  ribs  till,  unable  to  bear  it  any  longer, 
and  seeing  in  visions  all  that  I  had  raised  pulled  down,  I 
started  with  Titus  and  travelled  all  over  Galatia  and  Phrygia 
to  Bithynia,  along  the  shores  of  Pontus,  and  returned  back 
again,  informing  the  kindly,  docile  souls,  who  loved  us  in 
their  weakness,  of  Lystra,  Derbe  and  other  towns,  setting  up 
my  loom  and  preaching  every  evening  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
whither  I  went  in  Macedonia,  Thessalonica,  Iconium,  Laodi- 
cea,  not  forgetful  of  Colossae  for  two  years  or  more  (I  have 
forgotten),  and  then  hearing  that  Apollos,  an  Alexandrian 
Jew  of  great  learning,  our  most  notable  convert,  of  whom 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  423 

I  have  not  spoken,  for  there  is  no  time  to  speak  of  every- 
thing, had  taken  ship  at  Corinth  for  Ephesus,  I  returned 
the  way  I  had  come  along  the  coast  to  meet  him  there,  Hke- 
wise  many  good  friends,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  were 
working  at  their  looms,  gathering  a  faithful  circle  about 
them.  We  set  up  shop  again  as  we  had  done  at  Corinth, 
Aquila,  Priscilla  and  myself  worked  at  our  looms  all  day, 
and  preached  in  the  evening  in  and  about  the  city,  and  on 
the  Sabbath  in  the  Synagogue. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

IN  Ephesus  stands  a  temple  said  to  be  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world,  the  Temple  of  Diana;  pilgrims  come  to  it 
from  all  countries,  and  buy  statues  of  the  goddess  to  set 
upon  their  tables  (little  silver  statues),  and  as  the  making 
of  these  is  the  principal  industry  in  that  city,  the  silver- 
smiths raised  cries  against  me  in  the  theatre,  where  once 
I  stood  up  to  address  the  people.  Great  is  Diana,  goddess 
of  the  Ephesians !  they  cried  out,  and  would  have  thrown 
me  to  the  beasts.  Yea,  I  fought  with  the  beasts,  for  they 
were  nothing  else,  and  had  not  Aquila  and  Priscilla  risked 
their  lives  to  save  me  I  should  have  perished  that  day. 
That  day  or  another  day ;  it  matters  not ;  we  all  perish 
sooner  or  later.  My  life  has  never  been  my  concern,  but 
God's,  a  thing  upheld  by  God  for  so  many  years  that  I  shun 
danger  no  longer.  It  has  even  come  to  pass  that  I  am  lonely 
in  security,  withdrawn  from  God  in  houses,  and  safe  in  his 
arms  when  clinging  to  a  spar  in  the  dark  sea.  God  and  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  beloved  son,  have  walked  on  either  side 
of  me  in  mountain  passes  where  robbers  lie  in  wait.  We  are 
nearer  to  God  in  hunger  and  thirst  than  when  the  mouth  is 
full.  In  fatigue  rather  than  in  rest,  and  to  know  oneself  to 
be  God's  servant  is  good  cheer  for  the  traveller,  better  than 
the  lights  of  the  inn  showing  over  the  horizon,  for  false 
brethren  may  await  him  in  the  inn,  some  that  will  hale  him 
before  rulers,  but  if  he  knows  that  he  is  God's  servant  he 
will  be  secure  in  his  own  heart,  where  alone  security  matters. 
It  may  have  been  my  sin  to  weary  too  often  at  the  length 
of  the  journey,  and  to  cry  out  to  the  Lord  Jesus  to  make  an 

424 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  425 

end  of  it.  It  may  have  been  that  I  was  often  too  eager  to 
meet  my  death  and  to  receive  the  reward  of  all  my  labour, 
but  who  shall  judge  me  ?  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only 
judge  and  his  reign  shall  endure  over  this  world  till  the  last 
man  has  vanished  into  death.  And  when  the  last  man  has 
perished  ?  Mathias  asked.  Paul  answered :  Jesus  shall 
pass  into  his  Father's  keeping  and  again  there  shall  be  but 
one  God.  But,  Paul,  Mathias  rejoined,  if  I  understand 
thee  rightly,  there  are  now  two  Gods,  and  our  hope  is  that 
in  time  to  come  the  twain  may  turn  to  one.  Paul  was  about 
to  answer,  but  his  lips  were  parched,  and  he  raised  the  cup 
of  water  to  his  lips,  and  when  he  had  drunk  he  was  about 
to  answer  Mathias,  but  Hazael  said  :  Mathias,  we  are  all 
eager  to  hear  the  story  of  Paul's  own  life.  There  will  be  time 
afterwards  to  discuss  his  doctrine.  Mathias  waved  his 
hand,  a  sign  that  Paul  might  continue  his  story,  which  he  did. 
From  Ephesus  we  returned  to  Corinth  and  to  Macedonia, 
and  dreams  began  to  take  hold  on  us  of  longer  journeys 
than  any  we  had  yet  undertaken ;  we  dreamed  of  Rome, 
and  then  of  Spain,  for  all  should  hear  the  joyful  tidings 
that  there  is  salvation  for  all,  and  we  live  in  dread  that  the 
judgment  may  come  upon  the  world  before  the  distant 
countries  have  heard  that  the  Christ  has  been  born  and 
has  died  and  been  raised  by  his  Father  from  the  dead,  thereby 
abolishing  the  Law,  which  was  no  longer  needed,  faith  in 
Christ  being  sufficient.  But  if  the  judgment  comes  before 
all  men  have  heard  of  the  Christ,  then  is  God  unjust.  God 
forbid ;  our  sloth  and  tardy  feet  are  responsible.  Our  fear 
is  for  the  Jews  that  have  closed  their  ears  to  the  truth,  and, 
therefore,  we  were  warned  not  to  leave  Palestine  without  a 
last  effort  to  save  them.  Once  more  my  soul  said  unto  me : 
Paul,  go  to  Jerusalem,  for  the  last  time  enter  the  Temple 
and  comply  with  all  the  Law,  for  these  things  matter  not  » 
whether  they  be  done  or  left  undone;  all  that  matters  is 
that  Jerusalem  should  accept  Jesus.     Be  all  things,  once 


426  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

more,  to  all  men.  And  it  was  after  this  command,  given  to 
me  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  that  I  took  leave  of  the  brethren 
at  Ephesus,  saying  to  them :  brethren,  you  knew  from  the 
first  day  that  I  came  unto  Asia  what  manner  of  man  had 
come  among  you,  directing  you  only  towards  repentance 
towards  God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  would 
indeed  remember  all  I  said  on  that  occasion,  for  I  spoke  well, 
the  Holy  Ghost  being  upon  me,  putting  the  very  words  of 
the  leave-taking  into  my  mouth  that  I  should  speak,  words 
which  I  cannot  find  again,  but  which  were  written  by  me 
afterwards,  as  I  wished  them  to  be  preserved  for  the  use  of 
the  faithful.  They  shall  be  sent  to  you.  But  in  this  mo- 
ment I'm  too  tired  to  remember  them,  and  will  continue  my 
story,  telling  how  when  the  sails  of  the  ship  were  lifted  we 
came  with  a  straight  course  unto  Coos,  and  the  day  following 
unto  Rhodes,  and  thence  Patara,  and  finding  a  ship  about 
to  start  for  Phoenicia,  we  went  aboard  and  set  forth  again. 
We  left  Cyprus  on  the  left,  and  were  landed  at  Tyre,  where 
there  were  many  disciples  who  said  tome  that  I  must  not  goto 
Jerusalem.  We  kneeled  on  the  shore  and  prayed ;  and  when 
we  had  taken  leave  of  one  another,  and  I  had  said  :  my  face 
you  shall  see  no  more,  we  took  ship,  and  they  returned  home. 
Next  day  we  were  at  Caesarea  and  went  to  the  house  of 
Philip  the  Apostle  (him  of  many  daughters,  and  all  proph- 
etesses), and  lived  with  him,  tarrying  till  there  came  from 
Judea  Agabus,  who,  when  he  saw  me,  took  my  girdle  and 
bound  his  own  hands  and  feet,  and  said :  so  at  Jerusalem 
shall  the  Jews  bind  him  that  owns  this  girdle,  and  they  shall 
deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  the  Gentiles.  At  which  all 
my  disciples  there  wept,  and  I  said :  why  do  ye  weep  ?  for 
your  weeping  breaks  my  heart.  Think  not  of  what  this 
man  has  said,  even  if  he  has  spoken  the  truth,  for  I  am  ready 
to  die  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  comforted 
them  and  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  was  received  by  the 
brethren.    James  and  all  the  elders  were  present,  and  after 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  427 

having  heard  from  me  how  widely  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  had  been  made  known  to  the  Gentiles  and  to 
the  Jews  that  lived  among  the  Gentiles,  they  answered : 
brother,  there  are  a  great  many  believers  among  the  Jews, 
and  all  here  are  ardent  followers  of  the  Law,  and  these  have 
heard  that  thou  teachest  to  the  Jews  in  exile  that  Moses 
may  be  forsaken,  and  that  they  need  not  circumcise  their 
children  and  may  set  aside  our  customs.  Now,  Paul,  they 
asked,  what  favour  dost  thou  expect  from  us  if  these  things 
be  as  they  have  been  reported  to  us  ?  And  being  sure  within 
myself  that  it  was  not  counsel  they  sought  from  me,  but 
words  out  of  my  own  mouth  whereby  they  might  stir  up 
the  people  against  me,  I  answered  only :  upon  whose  testi- 
mony do  ye  say  these  things  ?  There  are,  they  said,  four 
holy  men,  who  are  under  a  vow;  go  with  them  and  purify 
thyself  and  pay  the  money  they  need  for  the  shaving  of 
their  heads  and  all  other  expenses.  WhereuponT  was  much 
angered,  seeing  the  snare  that  they  were  laying  for  me,  but, 
as  I  have  told  you,  my  rule  is  always  to  be  all  things  to  all 
men,  and  remembering  that  though  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord 
has  set  us  free  from  the  Law,  it  would  be  better  to  forgo 
this  liberty  than  to  scandalise  a  brother,  I  said  :  I  will  do, 
brethren,  as  you  ask,  and  went  with  the  four  poor  men 
to  the  Temple  and  remained  there  with  them  for  five  days, 
abstaining  from  wine,  and  cutting  ofF — well,  there  was 
little  hair  for  me  to  cut  off,  but  what  there  was  I  cut  off. 

All  went  well  during  the  first  days,  but  the  emissaries 
and  agents  of  James,  seeing  that  my  devotion  in  the  Temple 
might  win  over  the  Jews  to  me,  laid  another  snare,  and  I 
was  accused  of  having  held  converse  with  Trophimus,  an 
uncircumcised  Greek,  in  the  street  the  day  of  my  arrival  in 
Jerusalem,  and  this  not  being  a  sufficient  oflFence  to  justify 
them  in  stoning  me  as  they  had  stoned  Stephen  before  my 
eyes,  it  was  said  that  I  had  brought  him  into  the  Temple, 
and  the  agents  of  the  priests  came  on  the  fifth  day  to  drag 


428  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

me  out  and  kill  me  in  some  convenient  byway,  the  sacristans 
closing  the  doors  of  the  Temple  behind  me.  We  will  make 
an  end  of  this  mischief,  the  hirelings  said,  and  began  to  look 
around  for  stones  wherewith  to  spatter  out  my  brains ;  they 
cast  off  their  garments  and  threw  dust  into  the  air,  and  I 
should  have  met  my  death  if  the  noise  had  been  any  less, 
but  it  was  even  greater  than  the  day  Stephen  died,  and  the 
Roman  guard  came  upon  the  people  and  drew  me  out  of 
their  hands,  saying :  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ?  The 
Jews  could  not  tell  them,  so  great  was  their  anger. 

We'll  take  him  to  the  castle,  the  Centurion  said,  and  the 
crowd  followed,  pressing  upon  us  and  casting  stones  at  me 
till  the  soldiers  had  perforce  to  draw  their  swords  so  as  to 
get  me  to  the  castle  alive.  We  were  thrown  hither  and 
thither,  and  the  violence  of  the  crowd  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  and  the  pressure  obliged  the  soldiers  to  carry  me  up 
the  steps  in  their  arms.  So  I  turned  to  the  Chief  Captain, 
who  was  trying  in  vain  to  calm  the  rioters,  and  said  to  him 
in  Greek :  may  I  speak  to  them  ?  So  thou  canst  speak 
Greek  ?  he  answered,  surprised,  and  gave  me  leave  to  speak, 
and  I  said  :  Hebrews,  listen  to  a  Hebrew  like  yourselves, 
and  I  told  of  the  vision  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  to  which 
they  listened,  but  as  soon  as  the  tale  was  over  they  cried : 
remove  him  from  this  world,-  he  is  not  fit  to  live.  At  these 
words  the  Centurion,  who  was  anxious  to  appease  the  people, 
signed  to  his  apparitors  to  seize  me,  and  before  I  had  time 
to  make  myself  heard  these  strapped  me  to  the  whipping- 
post, my  hands  above  me.  But  is  it  lawful  to  scourge  a 
Roman  and  he  uncondemned  ?  I  said  to  the  Centurion 
next  to  me.  Whereupon  the  lictors  withdrew  and  the 
Centurion  turned  to  the  Chief  Captain,  who  looked  me  up 
and  down,  for,  as  you  see,  my  appearance  did  not  command 
respect.  Is  it  true  that  thou'rt  a  Roman  citizen  .''  he  asked, 
and  I  answered,  yes,  and  he  was  astonished,  for  he  had  paid 
a  great  deal  of  money  for  the  title.     But  I  was  born  free. 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  429 

I  answered  him,  confusing  and  perplexing  him  and  putting 
a  great  fear  in  his  heart  that  behke  his  office  might  be  taken 
from  him  for  having  tied  a  Roman  citizen  to  the  whipping- 
post, merely  that  and  nothing  more. 

It  was  to  gain  my  favour  that  he  promised  to  summon 
a  council  (the  Sanhedrin),  and  on  the  day  appointed,  order- 
ing my  chains  to  be  unlocked,  introduced  me  to  the  Jews 
as  a  free  man,  saying  he  would  remain  to  hear  the  discus- 
sion. Brothers,  I  have  lived  till  to-day  in  good  conscience 
before  God.  On  that  the  High  Priest  ordered  those  that 
stood  by  him  to  strike  me  on  the  face.  God  shall  strike 
thee,  thou  whited  wall,  I  answered  him,  for  thou  sittest 
to  judge  me  according  to  the  law,  and  breaking  the  law 
thou  orderest  me  to  be  struck.  Those  that  were  present 
said  :  so  that  is  how  thou  revilest  the  High  Priest.  I  did 
not  know  he  was  the  High  Priest,  I  answered  :  if  I  had  I 
should  not  have  spoken  as  I  spoke,  for  is  it  not  written,  thou 
must  not  insult  the  chief  of  thy  people  ? 

As  I  spoke  these  words,  I  saw  that  the  Assembly  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  that  each  part  was  inspired  by 
different  ideas,  and  that  one  part,  the  Sadducees,  were 
determined  upon  my  death.  Therefore  my  words  were, 
brothers,  I  am  a  Pharisee  and  the  son  of  a  Pharisee,  do 
you  know  of  what  they  accuse  me  ^  Of  saying  that  the 
dead  will  be  raised  out  of  their  graves  for  judgment,  a 
thing  which  you  all  believe.  So  did  I  divide  my  enemies, 
persuading  the  Pharisees  thereby  to  defend  me,  and  they, 
believing  the  story  I  told  of  my  vision  on  the  road  to  Damas- 
cus, said  :  let  us  hear  nothing  against  him,  a  spirit  or  angel 
may  have  spoken  to  him.  But  the  Sadducees  were  the 
stronger  party,  and  dividing  the  Pharisees  with  their  arms 
many  rushed  to  kill  me,  and  they  would  have  done  this  if 
the  Captain  of  the  Guard  had  not  sent  soldiers  to  my  as- 
sistance, who  with  difficulty  rescued  me  from  the  Jews  and 
brought  me  back  to  the  castle. 


430  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

I  was  sorry  for  the  Captain  of  the  Guard,  who  came  to 
me  and  said :  I  know  not  how  this  will  end  or  what  to 
do  with  thee,  and  I  answered  him :  there  are  knots  in 
every  business,  and  the  clever  man  unties  them,  and  thou'lt 
find  a  way  of  untying  this  knot  in  thy  sleep  to-night.  .  .  . 
And  I  likewise,  which  was  true,  for  a  vision  came  to  me 
that  night,  Jesus  himself,  and  he  said  :  thou  hast  testified 
of  me  in  Jerusalem  and  thou  shalt  testify  of  me  in  Rome, 
and  Jesus  having  said  this  much,  I  knew  that  I  should  go 
to  Rome,  how  I  should  go  I  knew  not,  but  I  knew  that  I 
should  go  and  had  no  fear  when  my  sister's  son,  my  nephew, 
came  to  me  next  day  and  said  :  forty  of  the  Jews  have 
banded  together  to  kill  thee,  uncle,  and  this  is  how  they  will 
do  it.  They  will  present  a  petition  to  the  Chief  Captain 
to  have  thee  down  among  the  council  again  so  that  they 
may  question  thee  regarding  some  points  of  the  law  which 
they  affirm  thou  hast  transgressed.  Thou  must  not  go 
down  to  them,  uncle,  for  they  have  knives  concealed  under 
their  cloaks,  and  are  upon  oath  neither  to  eat  nor  to  drink 
until  they  have  killed  thee. 

So  they  are  base  enough  for  this,  I  answered,  but  1*11 
outwit  them,  and  calling  to  the  Centurion  said  :  take  this 
young  man  to  the  Chief  Captain  of  the  Guard ;  he  has 
matter  to  relate  which  the  Chief  Captain  should  hear  at 
once,  and  when  he  had  told  the  plot  Chief  Captain  Lysias 
said :  they  have  sworn  in  vain.  Thou  shalt  go  with  me 
to  Caesarea  and  under  a  strong  guard,  two  hundred  sol- 
diers, seventy  horsemen,  and  two  hundred  spearmen ;  these 
will  be  able  to  resist  any  attack  that  the  Jews  may  attempt 
even  should  they  hear  of  thy  departure.  At  nine  o'clock 
to-night  I  shall  put  into  thy  hand  a  letter  to  Felix,  the 
Governor,  telling  him  that  I  know  nothing  against  thee 
that  merits  death  or  prison.  The  orders  of  the  Captain 
of  the  Guard  were  carried  out  punctually;  we  marched  all 
night,  arriving  at  Antipatris  in  the  morning,  which  is  about 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  431 

half-way  between  Jerusalem  and  Caesarea,  and  all  danger  of 
surprise  being  now  over  the  escort  divided,  the  four  hundred 
men  returning  to  Jerusalem,  myself  going  on  to  Caesarea 
with  the  horsemen,  to  be  judged  by  Felix,  who  said :  I 
shall  sit  in  judgment  as  soon  as  thy  accusers  arrive  from 
Jerusalem. 

And  it  was  five  days  afterwards  that  my  accusers  began 
to  come  into  Caesarea,  Ananias  arriving  first  with  some  of 
the  elders  and  with  one  named  Tertullus,  who  began  his 
speech  against  me  with  many  coaxings  of  the  Governor, 
saying  that  it  was  through  him  that  Palestine  enjoyed  its 
great  peace  and  prosperity  and  for  these  gifts  he  was  truly 
thankful,  and  though  he  feared  he  might  prove  tedious, 
still  he  would  hope  that  Felix  in  his  great  clemency  might 
allow  him  to  say  a  few  further  words  about  a  pestilential 
fellow,  an  agent  of  sedition  among  the  Jews  throughout 
the  world,  and  a  ringleader  of  the  sect  known  as  the  Naza- 
renes :  one  who  came  to  Jerusalem  but  to  profane  the 
Temple,  and  wishing,  he  said,  to  judge  him  for  his  blas- 
phemy according  to  our  Law,  we  laid  hands  upon  him, 
but  the  Captain,  Lysias,  came  upon  us  and  with  great 
violence  took  him  out  of  our  hands,  and  after  hearing  him 
disputing  with  us  in  the  council  said,  I  find  no  fault  with 
him  but  will  send  him  to  the  noble  Felix.  And  you,  most 
noble  Felix,  have  sent  for  us,  and  we  have  come  and  feel 
right  well  that  we  have  not  come  in  vain,  for  your  know- 
ledge and  your  justice  are  known  in  all  the  world.  He 
said  these  things  and  many  more  of  this  sort  till  he  feared 
that  his  first  words  were  coming  true  and  that  he  was  be- 
ginning to  weary  Felix,  which  was  the  truth,  for  Felix 
raised  his  hand  for  me  to  speak,  whereupon  without  cozen- 
age and  without  preamble  I  told  Felix  that  I  had  gone  to 
Jerusalem  with  alms  collected  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
for  the  poor  and  also  for  worship  in  the  Temple.  Why 
then,  if  I  am  the  pestilential  fellow  that  Tertullus  says  I 


432  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

am,  is  it  that  the  Jews  allowed  me  the  Temple  to  abide 
therein  for  five  days  and  that  they  have  not  brought  wit- 
nesses to  testify  that  they  found  me  disputing  therein  or 
stirring  the  people  to  riot  in  the  Synagogue  and  in  the 
city.  And  I  see  none  here  to  bear  witness  that  I  do  not 
believe  in  all  that  is  written  in  the  Law  and  in  the  proph- 
ets ;  only  that  I  believe  with  a  great  part  of  the  citizens  of 
Jerusalem  that  the  dead  will  be  raised  from  their  graves  for 
judgment  at  the  last  day.  If  I  am  guilty  of  heresy  so  are 
many  others  here.  But  you  Essenes  do  not  hold  with 
the  Pharisees,  that  the  corruptible  body  is  raised  from  the 
dead,  you  believe  that  the  soul  only  is  immortal ;  I  believe 
that  there  is  a  spiritual  body  also  which  is  raised ;  and  Paul 
turned  his  searching  eyes  on  Mathias,  in  whose  mind  an 
answer  began  to  form,  but  before  he  had  time  to  speak  it 
the  brethren  began  to  evince  a  desire  that  Paul  should 
continue  his  story. 

Felix  after  hearing  me  bade  the  Jews  return  to  Jeru- 
salem. I  will  deliver  no  sentence  until  I  have  conferred 
with  Lysias,  he  said.  The  Jews  returned  discomfited, 
and  Felix  said  to  my  jailer,  let  him  be  relieved  of  his  chains 
and  be  free  to  see  his  friends  and  disciples  and  to  preach 
what  he  pleases.  Nor  was  this  all :  Felix  came  with  his 
wife,  Drusilla,  who  was  a  Jewess,  and  she  heard  me  tell 
Felix  that  there  would  be  a  judgment,  and  he  answered : 
speak  to  me  again  of  this,  and  they  came  to  me  many  times 
to  hear  of  the  judgment,  and  to  hint  at  a  sum  of  money  which 
would  be  easy  for  me  to  collect;  my  disciples  would  pay 
for  my  liberty  and  the  money  would  enable  him  to  risk  the 
anger  of  the  Jews,  who,  he  said,  desired  my  death  most 
savagely. 

But  I  was  of  no  mind  to  ask  my  disciples  to  pay  for  my 
release;  and  then  Felix,  desirous  of  obtaining  the  good 
will  of  the  Jews,  put  chains  upon  me  again,  and  so  left  me 
for  two  years,  till  Festus  was  appointed  in  his  place. 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  433 

It  was  three  days  after  Festus  had  disembarked  at  Caes- 
area  that  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  no  sooner  had  he 
arrived  there  than  the  High  Priest  asked  for  audience  and 
besought  him  to  send  for  Paul  that  he  might  be  judged  in 
Jerusalem ;  the  intention  of  the  High  Priest  being  that  I 
should  be  waylaid  and  killed  by  a  highwayman  among 
the  hills.  But  Festus  thought  it  was  unnecessary  to  bring 
me  to  Jerusalem,  for  he  was  about  to  return  to  Caesarea. 
Come,  he  said,  with  me,  and  accuse  this  man,  and  they 
agreed.  And  it  was  ten  days  afterwards  that  Festus  re- 
turned to  Caesarea  and  commanded  me  to  be  brought  before 
his  judgment  seat.  The  Jews  that  had  come  with  him  sat 
about,  and  with  many  voices  complained  against  me  of 
blasphemy,  but  their  accusations  were  vain,  for  I  an- 
swered :  I  have  not  offended  against  the  Law  of  the  Jews 
nor  against  Caesar,  and  they  answered,  so  thou  sayest,  but 
wilt  thou  come  to  Jerusalem  to  be  judged  by  us  ?  and  Fes- 
tus, who  now  only  thought  to  avoid  trouble  and  riot,  said 
to  me,  will  you  go  to  Jerusalem  that  I  may  hear  you  ? 

But,  Lord  Festus,  I  answered,  you  can  hear  me  here  as 
well  as  in  Jerusalem,  and  these  men  desire  but  my  death 
and  ask  that  I  shall  be  brought  to  Jerusalem  to  kill  me 
secretly,  therefore  I  appeal  to  Caesar. 

Whereupon  Festus  answered  that  he  had  no  fault  to 
find  with  me,  but  since  I  had  appealed  to  Caesar  I  must 
go  by  the  next  ship,  and  as  there  would  be  none  for  some 
weeks  Festus,  who  had  said  to  King  Agrippa  and  Berenice, 
when  they  came  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  new  governor,  and, 
being  Jews,  were  curious  about  my  gospel,  I  find  no  fault 
with  this  man  and  would  have  set  him  at  liberty,  but  he 
has  appealed  to  Caesar  and  by  the  next  ship  he  goes  to 
Rome,  permitted  me  my  liberty  to  go  whither  I  pleased  and 
to  preach  as  I  pleased  in  the  city  and  beyond  the  city  if  I 
pleased.  Whereupon  I  notified  to  Festus  I  would  go  to  Jeri- 
cho, a  two  days'  journey  from  Caesarea,  and  he  said,  go,  and 

2F 


434  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

in  three  weeks  a  ship  will  be  here  to  take  thee  to  Rome.  But 
he  said  :  If  the  Jews  should  hear  of  thee  thou'lt  lose  thy 
life,  and  he  offered  me  a  guard,  which  I  refused  as  useless, 
knowing  well  that  I  should  not  meet  my  death  at  Jericho. 
Why  cherish  a  love  for  them  that  hate  thee  ?  he  said,  and  I 
answered :  they  are  my  own  people,  and  my  heart  was 
filled  again  with  the  memory  of  the  elect  race  that  had  given 
birth  to  the  prophets.  Shall  these  go  down  dead  into  their 
graves  never  to  rise  again,  God's  chosen  people  ?  T  asked 
myself,  and  set  out  with  Timothy,  my  son  in  the  faith,  for 
Jericho,  a  city  I  had  never  seen  nor  yet  the  banks  of  Jordan 
down  which  Jesus  went  for  John's  baptism.  But  for  these 
things  I  had  little  thought  or  care,  but  was  as  if  propelled 
by  some  force  that  I  could  not  understand  nor  withstand ; 
and  a  multitude  collected  and  hearkened  to  the  story  of 
my  conversion  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  but  discontent 
broke  out  among  them  when  I  said  that  Jesus  had  come 
neither  to  confirm  nor  to  abolish  the  Law,  that  the  Law 
was  well  while  we  were  children  but  now  we  could  only 
enter  into  eternal  life  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord. 

The  rest  of  my  story  you  know :  how  we  fled  into  the 
hills  for  our  lives'  sake,  and  how  Timothy  in  the  dark  of  the 
evening  kept  to  the  left  whereas  I  came  round  the  shoulder 
of  the  hill  and  was  upheld  in  the  path  by  God,  who  has  still 
need  of  me.  His  ways  are  inscrutable,  for,  wishing  to  bring 
me  to  you,  he  has  sent  me  to  preach  in  Jordan  and  urged 
the  Jews  to  threaten  me  and  pursue  me  into  the  hills,  for 
he  wished  you  holy  men  who  live  upon  this  ridge  of  rock 
in  piety,  in  humility,  in  content,  in  peace  one  with  the 
other,  fearing  God  always,  to  hear  of  Jesus  and  his  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead  and  the  meaning  thereof,  which  is  that 
Christ  came  to  redeem  us  from  the  bondage  of  the  Law  and 
that  sense  of  sin  which  the  Law  reveals  unceasingly  and 
which  terrifies  and  comes  between  us  and  love  of  Jesus 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  435 

Christ,  who  will  (at  the  sound  of  the  last  trump)  raise  the 
incorruptible  out  of  the  corruptible.  Even  as  the  sown 
grain  is  raised  out  of  its  rotten  grave  to  flourish  and  rejoice 
again  at  the  light,  so  will  ye  flourish  again  in  the  fields  of 
heaven,  never  again  to  sink  into  old  age  and  death  if  you 
have  faith  in  Christ,  for  you  have  all  else,  fear  of  God,  and 
charity,  piety  and  humility,  brotherly  love,  peace  and 
content  in  the  work  that  the  day  brings  to  your  hands  and 
the  pillow  that  the  night  brings  to  your  head  for  reward 
for  the  work  done.  God  that  knows  all  knew  you  were 
waiting  on  this  margin  of  rock  for  the  joyful  tidings,  and 
he  sent  me  as  a  shepherd  might  send  his  servant  out  to 
call  in  the  flock  at  the  close  of  day,  for  in  his  justice  he  would 
not  have  it  that  ten  just  men  should  perish.  He  sent  me 
to  you  with  a  double  purpose,  methinks,  for  he  may  have 
designed  you  to  come  to  my  aid,  for  it  would  be  like  him 
that  has  had  in  his  heart  since  all  time  my  great  mission 
to  Italy  and  Spain,  to  have  conceived  this  way  to  provide 
me  with  new  feet  to  carry  the  joyful  tidings  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth ;  and  now  I  stand  amazed,  it  being  clear  to  me 
that  it  was  not  for  the  Jews  of  Jericho  that  I  was  sent  out 
from  Caesarea  but  for  you. 

Paul  waited  for  one  of  the  Essenes  to  answer,  and  his 
eyes  faUing  on  Mathias'  face  he  read  in  it  a  web  of  argu- 
ment preparing  wherein  to  catch  him,  and  he  prayed  that 
God  might  inspire  his  answers.  At  last  Mathias,  in  clear, 
silvery  voice,  broke  the  silence  that  had  fallen  so  sud- 
denly, and  all  were  intent  to  hear  the  silken  periods  with 
which  the  Egyptian  thanked  Paul  for  the  adventurous 
story  he  had  related  to  them,  who,  he  said,  lived  on  a  nar- 
row margin  of  rock,  knowing  nothing  of  the  world,  and 
unknown  to  it,  content  to  live,  as  it  were,  immersed  in  God. 
Paul's  narrative  was  full  of  interesting  things,  and  he  re- 
gretted that  Paul  was  leaving  them,  for  he  would  have 
liked  to  have  given  longer  time  to  the  examination  of  the 


436  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

several  points,  but  his  story  contained  one  thing  of  such 
great  moment  that  he  passed  over  many  points  of  great 
interest,  and  would  ask  Paul  to  tell  them  why  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ  should  bring  with  it  the  abrogation 
of  the  Law  of  Moses.  If  the  Law  was  true  once,  it  was 
true  always,  for  the  Law  was  the  mind  and  spirit  and  Es- 
sence of  God.  That  is,  he  continued,  the  Law  spiritually 
understood ;  for  there  are  those  among  us  Essenes  who 
have  gone  beyond  the  letter.  I,  too,  know  something  of 
that  spiritual  interpretation,  Paul  cried  out,  but  I  under- 
stand it  of  God's  providence  in  relation  to  man  during  a 
certain  period ;  that  which  is  truth  for  the  heir  is  not  truth 
to  the  lord.  Mathias  acquiesced  with  lofty  dignity,  and 
continued  his  interrogation  in  measured  phrases :  that  if  he 
understood  Paul  rightly,  and  he  thought  he  did,  his  teach- 
ing was  that  the  Law  only  served  to  create  sin,  by  multi- 
plying the  number  of  possible  transgressions.  Thy  meaning 
would  seem  to  be  that  Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles  sin  by  acquir- 
ing consciousness  of  sin,  but  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  we  get 
peace  with  God  and  access  unto  his  grace.  Upon  grace, 
Paul,  we  see  thee  standing  as  on  a  pedestal  crying  oiit, 
sin  abounds  but  grace  abounds,  fear  not  sin.  The  words 
of  my  enemies,  Paul  cried,  interrupting,  sin  so  that  grace 
may  abound,  God  forbid.  Those  that  are  baptized  in 
Christ  are  dead  to  sin,  buried  with  him  to  rise  with  him 
again  and  to  live  a  new  life.  The  old  man  (that  which 
we  were  before  Christ  died  for  us)  was  crucified  with  Christ 
so  that  we  might  serve  sin  no  longer.  Freed  from  the 
bondage  of  the  Law  and  concupiscence  by  grace  we  are 
saved  through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  damna- 
tion. It  is  of  this  grace  that  we  would  hear  thee  speak. 
Do  we  enter  into  faith  through  grace  ?  Mathias  asked, 
and,  having  obtained  a  sign  of  assent  from  Paul,  he  asked 
if  grace  were  other  than  a  free  gift  from  God,  and  he  waited 
again  for  a  sign  of  assent.     Paul  nodded,   and   reminded 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  437 

him  that  God  had  said  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compassion  on 
whom  I  will  have  compassion.  Then,  Mathias  said,  the 
Law  of  Moses  is  not  abrogated,  thou  leanest  upon  it  when 
it  suiteth  thy  purpose  to  lean,  and  pushest  it  aside  when  it 
pleases  thee  to  reprove  us  as  laggards  in  tradition  and  among 
the  beginnings  of  things.  It  was  lest  some  mood  of  injust- 
ice might  be  imputed  to  God  in  neglecting  us  that  we  were 
invited  to  become  thy  disciples,  and  to  carry  the  joyful 
tidings  into  Italy  and  Spain.  But  we  no  longer  find  those 
rudiments  in  the  Law.  We  read  it  with  the  eyes  of  the 
mind,  and  we  receive  not  from  thy  lips  that  God  is  like  a 
man  —  a  parcel  of  moods,  and  obedient  to  them.  It  is 
true  that  God  justifies  whom  he  glorifies,  Paul  answered, 
but  for  that  he  is  not  an  unjust  God.  If  he  did  not  spare 
his  son,  but  delivered  him  to  death  that  we  might  be  saved, 
will  he  not  give  us  all  things  ?  Who  shall  accuse  God's 
elect  ^  He  that  chose  them  ?  Who  will  condemn  them  ? 
Christ  that  will  sit  on  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  that 
intercedes  for  us  ?  Neither  death  nor  life  nor  angels  can 
separate  me  from  the  love  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  if 
I  came  hither  it  is  for  the  sake  of  my  brothers,  my  kinsmen 
that  might  be  saved.  God  has  not  broken  his  promise  to 
his  chosen  people.  A  man  may  be  born  an  Israelite  and  not 
be  one;  we  are  true  Israelites,  not  by  birth  but  by  election. 
God  calls  whom  he  pleases,  and  without  injustice.  But, 
brethren,  Mathias  would  ask  of  me :  why  does  God  yet 
find  a  fault  though  none  may  resist  his  will  ?  We  dare  not 
reason  with  God  or  ask  him  to  explain  his  preferences. 
Does  the  vase  ask  the  potter:  why  hast  thou  made  me 
thus  ?  Had  not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay  to  make 
from  the  same  lump  two  vases,  one  for  noble  and  the  other 
for  ignoble  use  ?  Not  in  discourse  of  reason  is  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  but  in  its  own  power  to  be  and  to  grow,  and  that 
power  is  manifested  in  my  gospel. 


438  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

The  approval  of  the  brethren  whitened  Mathias'  cheek 
with  anger,  and  he  answered  Paul  that  his  denial  of  the 
Law  did  not  help  him  to  rise  to  any  higher  conception  of 
the  deity  than  to  compare  him  to  a  potter,  and  he  warned 
Paul  that  to  arrive  at  any  idea  of  God  we  must  forget 
potters,  rejecting  the  idea  of  a  maker  setting  out  from  a 
certain  moment  of  time  to  shape  things  according  to  a 
pattern  out  of  pre-existing  matter.  And  I  would  tell  thee 
before  thou  startest  for  the  end  of  the  earth  that  the  Jesus 
Christ  which  has  obsessed  thee  is  but  the  Logos,  the  prin- 
ciple that  mediates  between  the  supreme  God  and  the 
world  formed  out  of  matter,  which  has  no  being  of  its  own, 
for  being  is  not  in  that  mere  potency  of  all  things  alike, 
which  thou  callest  Power,  but  in  Divine  Reason. 

I  have  heard  men  speak  like  thee  in  Athens,  Paul  an- 
swered slowly  and  sadly,  and  I  said  then  that  the  wisdom 
of  man  is  but  foolishness  in  God's  sight.  But  thy  stay 
there  was  not  long,  and  thou  hast  not  spoken  of  my  country, 
Egypt,  Mathias  answered,  and  rising  from  his  seat  he  left 
the  table  and  passed  out  on  to  the  balcony  like  one  offended, 
and,  leaning  his  arms  on  the  rail,  he  stood  looking  into  the 
abyss. 

A  Jew  of  Alexandria,  Manahem  whispered  in  Paul's  ear, 
but  he  holds  fast  by  the  Law  in  his  own  sense,  and  in  telling 

of  this  Christ  thou we  would  hear  stories  of  him  whom 

thou  callest  the  Lord  Jesus,  Saddoc  interjected,  for  thou 
canst  not  have  missed  hearing  many  from  Peter,  the  fisher- 
man, him  whom  thou  foundest  eating  unclean  meat  with 
the  Gentiles  in  Antioch.  Had  I  hearkened  to  Peter's  idle 
stories,  Paul  answered,  I  should  not  have  heard  the  Lord  Jesus, 
whose  voice  forever  calls  me  to  hasten  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
with  the  tidings  that  there  is  salvation  for  all,  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile alike.  And  hearing  him  always,  the  unworthy  but  faith- 
ful servant  hastens  on,  never  slackening  his  steps  through 
dangers  innumerable.     He  now  goes  to  Italy  and  will  con- 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  439 

tinue  onwards  to  Spain  to  find  thither  the  end  of  his  journey 

death,  as  has  been  foretold  to  me  in  a  dream.     An  old 

man  appeared  to  me  once  crossing  a  rocky  plain  in  the  calm 
of  evening;  he  fell  under  some  bushes  growing  by  a  river, 
myrtle  bushes  they  were,  I  think.  I  did  not  know  myself 
in  the  old  man  till  I  heard  the  Lord  Jesus  calling :  faithful 
servant,  thou  hast  come  to  the  end  of  thy  journey  and  into 
thy  reward.  A  shepherd  lad  left  his  flock  and  lifted  me 
up  and  sprinkled  water  on  my  face,  but  finding  me  dead 
threw  the  body  that  I  had  left  behind  into  a  cleft  of  the 
rocks,  and  heaped  -stones  upon  it  lest  it  should  become  food 
for  vultures.  ...  Is  there  none  here,  Paul  said  looking 
round,  that  will  come  to  Italy  and  afterwards  to  Spain, 
carrying  the  joyful  tidings  of  salvation  onward  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  to  the  ears  of  the  last  tribes  ^  It  was  a  shepherd 
lad  thou  sawest  in  thy  dream  ?  Saddoc  asked.  Tell  us,  Paul, 
if  the  Lord  Jesus  that  Peter  and  John  knew  in  Galilee  was  a 

shepherd  an  Essene.     Paul  answered  that  he  had  not 

heard  that  Jesus  had  followed  any  trade,  only  that  he  was 
born  in  Nazareth  and  returned  thither  after  many  years 
absence.     He  was  crucified  by  Pilate  between  two  thieves, 

and  the  third  day Didst  say  he  was  born  in  Nazareth  ? 

Hazael  asked. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

ONE  of  the  Essenes  had  left  some  quires  of  his  Scriptures 
upon  the  table;  Paul  picked  them  up,  but,  unable  to  fix 
his  attention,  he  walked  out  on  to  the  balcony,  and  when 
the  murmur  of  the  brook  began  to  exasperate  him  he  re- 
turned to  the  domed  gallery  and  walked  through  it  with 
some  vague  intention  of  following  the  rubble  path  that 
led  out  on  to  the  mountains,  but  remembering  the  Thracian 
dogs  chained  under  the  rocks,  he  came  back  and  stood 
by  the  well,  and  in  its  moist  atmosphere  fell  into  argu- 
ment with  himself  as  to  the  cause  of  his  disquiet,  denying 
to  himself  that  it  was  related  in  any  way  to  the  story  he 
had  heard  from  the  Essenes  —  that  there  was  one  amongst 
them,  a  shepherd  from  Nazareth,  who  had  received  bap- 
tism from  John  and  suffered  under  Pilate,  the  very  one 
whom  he  had  heard  talking  that  morning  to  Jacob  about 
ewes  and  rams.  At  last  he  attributed  his  disquiet  to  his 
anxiety  for  the  safety  of  Timothy. 

All  the  same,  he  said,  it  was  strange  that  Pilate  should 
have  put  one  from  this  cenoby  on  the  cross,  another  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  ...  It  might  be  that  this  Essene  shepherd 
and  his  story  were  but  a  trap  laid  for  him  by  the  Jews ! 
But  no 

Paul  remembered  he  had  written  a  long  epistle  to  the 
Galatians  reproving  them  for  lack  of  faith,  and  now  he  found 
himself  caught  in  one  of  those  moments  to  which  all  flesh 
seems  prone.  But  no ;  the  cause  of  his  disquiet  was  Tim- 
othy; Jesus  had  promised  him  news  of  Timothy,  else  he 
would  not  have  delayed  so  long  among  these  clefts.     He 

440 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  441 

might  start  at  once;  but  he  would  not  be  able  to  find  the 
way  through  these  hills  without  a  guide,  and  he  could  not 
leave  till  he  heard  from  this  Essene  why  Pilate  had  ordered 
him  to  be  scourged.  What  crime  was  he  guilty  of?  A 
follower  he  was,  no  doubt,  of  Judas  the  Gaulonite,  else 
Pilate  would  not  have  ordered  him  to  be  crucified.  But 
the  reason  for  his  having  left  the  wilderness  ?  There  must 
be  one,  and  he  sought  the  reason  through  the  long  afternoon 
without  finding  one  that  seemed  plausible  for  more  than  a 
few  minutes. 

The  drone  of  the  brook  increased  his  agitation  and  the 
day  was  well-nigh  spent  when  the  doors  of  the  cells  opened 
and  the  brethren  began  to  appear  in  their  white  garments ; 
and  when  they  had  found  seats  about  the  table  Paul  re- 
lated that  he  was  waiting  for  Jesus  to  return  from  the  hills. 

At  last  he  heard  one  say :  Here  is  Jesus,  and  at  the  sound 
of  the  familiar  name  Paul  started  up  to  meet  him,  and 
speaking  the  first  words  that  came  to  his  lips  he  asked 
him  if  it  were  true  that  he  was  from  Nazareth  and  had 
received  baptism  from  John  and  suffered  under  Pilate.  I 
was  born  in  Nazareth,  but  what  of  that  ?  Why  dost  thou 
look  into  my  face  so  steadfastly  ?  Because  this  noon, 
Paul  answered,  while  thou  wast  with  thy  flock,  I  was  moved 
to  tell  the  brethren  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  died  on  the 
cross  to  redeem  us,  for  I  would  that  all  you  here  should 
join  with  us  and  carry  the  joyful  tidings  to  Italy  and  Spain. 
The  doors  are  open 

Hazael  coming  from  his  cell  at  that  moment  stayed  the 
words  that  had  risen  up  in  Paul's  mind,  and  he  looked  at 
the  president  as  if  he  expected  him  to  speak,  but  Hazael 
sank  into  his  chair  and  soon  after  into  his  own  thoughts. 
So  thy  name  is  Jesus  and  thou'rt  from  Nazareth  ?  Paul 
said,  turning  to  the  shepherd,  and  Jesus  answered  :  I  was 
born  in  Nazareth  and  my  life  has  been  lived  among  these 
hills.     Our   guest,    Saddoc   said,   interrupting,   has   told    us 


442  .  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

the  story  of  his  life,  and  he  hopes  to  persuade  us  to  leave 
this  gorge  and  go  with  him  to  Italy  and  on  to  Spain.  To 
Spain  ?  Jesus  asked.  To  carry  the  joyful  tidings  that 
the  doors  of  salvation  are  now  open  to  all,  Saddoc  an- 
swered. He  has  told  us  that  he  was  once  a  great  perse- 
cutor of  Christians.  Of  Christians  ?  Jesus  repeated.  And 
who  are  they  ?  The  Christians  are  they  that  believe  the 
Messiah  promised  to  the  Jews  was  raised  by  God  from 
the  dead,  Saddoc  replied,  and  our  guest  would  have  us 
go  with  him  to  Spain,  for  on  the  road  to  Damascus  he  had 
a  vision,  and  nearly  lost  his  sight  in  It.  And  ever  since 
he  has  been  preaching  that  the  doors  are  open  to  all.  He 
is  the  greatest  traveller  the  world  has  ever  known.  Christ 
is  a  Greek  word,  Manahem  said,  for  it  seemed  to  him  that 
Saddoc  was  speaking  too  much,  and  that  he  could  give 
Jesus  a  better  account  of  Paul's  journeyings,  his  conver- 
sions of  the  Gentiles  and  the  persecutions  that  followed 
these  conversions :  for  the  Jews,  Manahem  said,  have 
been  on  his  track  always,  and  his  last  quarrel  with  them 
was  yester  even  by  the  Jordan,  where  he  was  preaching 
with  Timothy.  They  lost  each  other  in  the  hills.  Of 
Timothy  I  have  news,  Jesus  answered.  He  met  a  shepherd 
in  the  valley  who  pointed  out  the  way  to  Caesarea  to  him, 
and  it  may  be  that  he  is  not  far  from  that  city  now.  Then 
I  will  go  to  Caesarea  at  once,  Paul  cried.  I  have  promised 
to  put  thee  on  the  direct  road,  Jesus  said,  but  it  is  for  thee 
to  choose  another  guide,  he  added,  for  Paul's  face  told  him 
the  thoughts  that  were  passing  in  Paul's  mind  :  that  he 
would  sooner  that  any  other  of  the  brethren  should  guide 
him  out  of  the  wilderness.  After  looking  at  Paul  for  some 
time  he  said :  I've  heard  from  Manahem  and  Saddoc  that 
thou  wast  a  persecutor  of  Christians,  but  without  under- 
standing, so  hurried  was  the  story.  And  they  tell  me,  Paul 
said,  that  thou'rt  from  Nazareth  and  suffered  under  Pilate. 
More  than  that  they  do  not  seem  to  know ;   but  from  what 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  443 

they  tell  me  thy  story  resembles  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who 
was  betrayed  in  a  garden  and  was  raised  from  the  dead. 
At  the  words,  who  was  betrayed  in  a  garden,  a  light  seemed 
to  break  in  Jesus'  face  and  he  said  :  some  two  years  of  my 
life  are  unknown  to  anybody  here,  even  Hazael  does  not 
know  them,  and  last  night  I  was  about  to  tell  them  to  him 
on  the  balcony. 

You  all  remember  how  he  was  carried  out  of  the  lecture- 
room  on  to  this  balcony  by  Saddoc  and  Manahem,  who 
left  him  with  me.  I  had  just  returned  from  the  mountain, 
having  left  my  flock  with  Jacob,  our  new  shepherd,  and 
Hazael,  who  recovered  his  senses  quickly  in  the  evening 
air,  begged  me  to  tell  him  of  Jacob's  knowledge  of  the  flock, 
and  I  spoke  to  him  highly  of  Jacob.  .  .  .  Hazael,  have  I 
thy  permission  to  tell  the  brethren  here  assembled  the 
story  I  began  to  tell  thee  last  night,  but  which  was  in- 
terrupted .f"  The  old  man  raised  his  head  and  said  :  Jesus, 
I  hearken,  go  on  with  thy  story. 

Brethren,  yester  evening  I  returned  from  the  hills  after 
having  left  our  flock  in  charge  of  Jacob.  You  know,  breth- 
ren, why  I  confided  the  flock  to  him.  After  fifty  (I  am 
fifty-five)  our  steps  are  no  longer  as  alert  as  they  were : 
an  old  man  cannot  sleep  in  a  cavern  like  a  young  man  nor 
defend  himself  against  robbers  like  a  young  man,  and 
yesternight  was  the  first  night  I  spent  under  a  roof  for 
many  a  year,  and  under  that  roof  I  am  to  live  henceforth 
with  you  here,  tending  on  our  president,  who  needs  atten- 
tion now  in  his  great  age.  These  things  were  in  his  mind 
and  in  mine  while  we  sat  on  the  balcony  last  night  taking 
the  air.  Hazael  had  spoken  his  fear  that  the  change  from 
the  hills  to  this  dwelling  would  prove  irksome  to  me  at 
first,  and  our  talk  turned  upon  the  life  I  have  led  since 
boyhood.  Our  president  seemed  to  think  that  the  better 
life  is  to  live  under  the  sky  and  the  sure  way  to  happiness  is 
in  solitude :    he  had  fallen  to  admiration  of  my  life  spent 


444  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

among  the  hills,  and  had  spoken  to  me  of  the  long  journeys 
he  used  to  undertake  in  his  youth  over  Palestine,  seeking 
for  young  men  in  whom  he  foresaw  the  making  of  good 
Essenes;  many  of  you  here  are  his  discoveries,  myself 
certainly.  We  indulged  in  recollection,  and  listening  to 
him  my  thoughts  were  back  in  Nazareth,  and  I  waited  for 
him  to  tell  me  how  one  night  he  met  my  father,  Joseph  the 
carpenter,  returning  home  after  his  day's  work,  and  seeing 
in  him  a  native  of  the  district,  he  addressed  himself  to  him 
and  begged  my  father  to  point  out  the  road  to  Nazareth. 
My  father  answered  :  I  am  going  thither,  thou  canst  not  do 
better  than  follow  me.  So  the  two  fared  on  together, 
talking  of  a  lodging  for  the  night,  my  father  fearing  that 
no  house  would  be  open  to  a  stranger,  which  was  the  truth. 
They  knocked  at  many,  but  received  only  threats  that 
the  dogs  would  be  turned  upon  them  if  they  did  not  hasten 
away.  My  father  said :  never  shall  it  be  rumoured  in 
Nazareth  that  a  stranger  was  turned  away  and  had  to 
sleep  in  the  streets.  Thou  shalt  have  my  son's  bed,  and 
taking  Hazael  by  the  hand  my  father  uged  him  and  forced 
him  into  our  house.  Thou  shalt  sleep  in  my  house,  my  father 
said,  and  shook  me  out  of  my  sleep,  saying,  Jesus,  thy  bed  is 
wanted  for  a  stranger,  and  to  this  day  I  remember  standing 
in  my  smock  before  Hazael,  my  eyes  dazed  with  sleep. 

Next  day  Hazael  was  teaching  me;  and  it  pleasing  him 
to  see  in  me  the  making  of  a  good  Essene,  and  my  father 
being  willing  that  I  should  go  (a  good  carpenter  he  did 
not  see  in  me),  he  took  me  away  with  him  through  Samaria 
into  Jerusalem,  and  we  struck  across  the  desert,  descending 
the  hills  into  the  plain  of  Jericho,  and  crossed  the  Jordan. 

After  a  year's  probationship  I  was  admitted  into  the 
order  of  the  Essenes  and  was  given  choice  of  a  trade,  and 
it  was  put  forth  that  I  should  follow  the  trade  of  my  father 
or  work  amid  the  fig-trees  along  our  terraces,  but  my  imagi- 
nation being  stirred  by  the  sight  of  the  shepherds  among 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  445 

the  hills,  I  said,  let  me  be  one.  And  for  fifteen  years  I  led 
my  flock,  content  to  see  it  prosper  under  my  care,  until  one 
day,  spying  two  wolves  scratching  where  I  knew  there  was 
a  cave,  an  empty  one  I  thought,  the  hermit  having  been 
taken  by  wolves  not  long  before,  I  couched  my  spear  and 
went  forward ;  at  sight  of  me  and  my  dogs  the  wolves  fled, 
as  I  expected  they  would,  and  the  hermit  that  had  come  to 
the  cave  overnight  came  out,  and  after  thanking  me  for 
driving  ofi^  the  wolves  asked  me  if  I  could  guide  him  to  a 
spring  of  pure  water.  Thou'rt  not  far  from  one,  I  said,  for 
the  cave  he  had  come  to  live  in  was  situated  in  the  valley 
of  the  leopard's  den,  which  is  but  half-a-mile  from  our 
brook.  I  will  go  thither  with  thee  this  evening,  but  first 
drink  from  my  water-bottle,  I  said,  for  I  could  see  he  needed 
water,  and  I  spoke  to  him  of  the  number  of  hermits  we 
had  lost  lately  from  wild  animals,  but  he  did  not  heed  me, 
and  as  soon  as  he  had  soothed  his  parched  tongue  with 
my  water-bottle  he  began  to  tell  me  that  he  had  come  from 
the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  was  about  to  begin  to  preach 
the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and 
that  we  must  not  indulge  in  hope  of  salvation  because  we 
have  Abraham  for  our  father. 

His  words  seemed  to  be  true  words,  and  I  pondered  on 
them,  and  along  the  Jordan  everybody  was  asking  whether 
he  was  the  promised  Christ.  I  walked  miles  to  hear  him, 
leaving  my  flock  in  another's  charge,  or  waited  for  him  to 
return  to  his  cave,  and  often  spent  the  night  watching  over 
him  lest  a  wild  beast  should  break  in  upon  him  while  he 
slept.  I  had  known  none  but  my  brethren,  nor  any  city, 
and  John  had  travelled  through  all  Judea,  and  it  was  from 
him  I  learnt  that  the  world  was  nearing  its  end,  and  that 
if  man  did  not  repent  at  once  God  would  raise  another 
race  out  of  the  stones  by  the  wayside,  so  needful  was  the 
love  of  man  to  God  ;  and  though  it  had  always  seemed  to 
me    God    was    gentler    than    he    seemed    to    be    in    John's 


446  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

prophesying,  yet  his  teaching  suddenly  seemed  to  be  right 
to  me.  I  got  baptism  from  him  in  Jordan  and  went 
into  the  wilderness  to  read  the  book  of  Daniel,  in  which 
he  said  all  had  been  foretold,  and,  having  read,  at  his 
advice  I  bade  farewell  to  the  brethren.  Manahem, 
Saddoc,  Mathias,  and  Caleb  and  Eleazor  remember  my 
departure;  you  regretted  it  and  tried  to  dissuade  me,  but 
I  answered  you,  saying  that  God  had  called  me  to  preach 
in  my  own  country,  Galilee,  that  whosoever  has  two  coats 
should  give  one  to  the  poor;  for  it  is  the  poor  that  will 
intercede  for  us  on  the  last  day;  and,  carrying  John's 
doctrine  further,  I  declared  that  it  were  easier  for  a  sword 
to  pass  through  an  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to 
go  to  heaven,  which  may  be  true,  but  such  judgments 
should  be  left  to  God,  and,  carrying  it  still  further,  I  said 
it  was  as  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  go  to  heaven  as  for  a  cow 
to  calve  in  a  rook's  nest. 

In  my  teaching  I  wandered  beyond  our  doctrines  and 
taught  that  this  world  is  but  a  mock,  a  shame,  a  disgrace, 
and  that  naught  was  of  avail  but  repentance.  John's 
teaching  took  possession  of  me,  but  I  would  not  have  you 
think  here  that  I  am  about  to  lay  my  sins  at  John's  door, 
for  sin  it  is  for  a  man  to  desire  that  which  God  has  not 
given,  and  I  should  have  remained  an  Essene  shepherd 
following  my  flocks  in  the  hills,  whereas  John  did  well 
to  come  out  of  his  desert  and  preach  that  the  end  of  the 
world  was  approaching  and  that  men  must  repent,  for 
God  willed  him  to  preach  these  things.  His  teaching 
was  true  when  he  was  the  teacher,  but  when  I  became  his 
disciple  his  teaching  became  false;  it  turned  me  from 
my  natural  self  and  into  such  great  harshness  of  mind 
that  in  Nazareth  when  my  mother  came  with  my  brothers 
and  sisters  to  the  Synagogue  I  said,  woman,  I  have  no 
need  of  thee,  and  when  Joseph  of  Arimathea  returned 
to    me    after    a    long    attendance  by  his    father's    bedside 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  447 

(his  father  had  lain  in  a  great  sickness  for  many  months; 
it  was  through  Joseph's  care  that  he  had  been  saved 
from  death,  Joseph  was  a  good  son),  I  told  him  he  must 
learn  to  hate  his  father  and  his  mother  if  he  would  be- 
come worthy  to  follow  me.  But  my  passion  was  so  great 
in  those  days  that  I  did  not  see  that  my  teaching  was  not 
less  than  blasphemy  against  God,  for  God  has  created  the 
world  for  us  to  live  in  it,  and  he  has  put  love  of  parents 
into  our  hearts  because  he  wishes  us  to  love  our  parents, 
and  if  he  has  put  into  the  heart  of  man  love  of  woman,  and 
into  the  heart  of  woman  love  of  man,  it  is  because  he  wishes 
both  to  enjoy  that  love. 

I  fear  to  think  of  the  things  I  said  at  that  time,  but  I 
must  speak  of  them.  One  man  asked  me  before  he  left 
all  things  to  follow  me  if  he  might  not  bury  his  father 
first.  I  answered,  leave  the  dead  to  bury  their  dead, 
and  to  another  who  said,  my  hand  is  at  the  plough,  may 
I  not  drive  it  to  the  headland,  I  answered :  leave  all 
things  and  follow  me.  My  teaching  grew  more  and  more 
violent.  It  is  not  peace,  I  said,  that  I  bring  to  you,  but  a 
sword,  and  I  come  as  a  brand  wherewith  to  set  the  world 
in  flame.  I  said,  too,  that  I  came  to  divide  the  house; 
to  set  father  against  mother,  brother  against  brother, 
sister  against  sister.  I  can  see  that  my  remembrance  of 
him  who  once  was,  wounds  the  dear  brethren  with  whom 
I  have  lived  so  long;  I  knew  it  would  be  hard  for  you  to 
hear  that  an  Essene  had  broken  the  rules  of  a  holy  order, 
and  it  is  hard  for  me  to  stand  before  you  and  tell  that  I, 
who  was  instructed  by  Hazael  in  all  the  pious  traditions 
of  our  race,  should  have  blasphemed  against  God's  creation 
and  God's  own  self.  You  will  thrust  me  through  the  door 
as  an  unworthy  brother,  saying,  go,  live  in  the  wilderness, 
and  I  shall  not  cry  out  against  my  expulsion  through  the 
hills  and  valleys,  but  continue  to  repent  my  sins  in  silence 
till  death  leads  me  into  silence  that  never  ends.     You  are 


448  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

perhaps  asking  yourselves  why  I  returned  here;  was  it 
to  hide  myself  from  Pilate  and  the  Jews  ?  No,  but 
to  repent  of  the  evil  seed  that  I  had  sown  that  I  returned 
here;  and  it  was  because  he  wished  me  to  repent  that 
God  took  me  down  from  the  cross  and  cured  me  of  my 
wounds  in  Joseph's  house  and  sent  me  here  to  lead  the 
sheep  over  the  hills,  and  it  was  he  who  put  this  last  con- 
fession into  my  mouth. 

It  seems  to  me  that  in  telling  this  story,  brethren,  I  am 
doing  but  the  work  of  God ;  no  man  strays  very  far  from 
the  work  that  God  has  decreed  to  him.  But  in  the  time  I 
am  telling  I  was  so  exalted  by  the  many  miracles  which 
I  had  performed  by  the  power  of  God  or  the  power  of  a 
demon,  I  know  not  which,  that  I  encouraged  my  disciples 
to  speak  of  me  as  the  son  of  David,  though  I  knew  myself 
to  be  the  son  of  Joseph  the  carpenter;  and  when  I  rode 
into  Jerusalem  and  the  people  strewed  palms  before  me 
and  called  out,  the  son  of  David,  and  Joseph  said  to  me, 
let  them  not  call  thee  the  son  of  David,  I  answered  in  my 
pride,  if  they  did  not  call  it  forth  the  stones  themselves 
would.  In  the  days  I  am  telling,  pride  lifted  me  above 
myself,  and  I  went  about  asking  who  I  was,  Moses,  Elijah, 
Jeremiah,  or  the  Messiah  promised  to  the  Jews. 

A  madman !  A  madman,  or  possessed  by  some  evil 
spirit,  Paul  cried  out,  and  rising  to  his  feet  he  rushed  out 
of  the  cenoby,  but  nobody  rose  to  detain  him ;  some  of  the 
Essenes  raised  their  heads,  and  a  moment  after  the  in- 
terruption was  forgotten. 

A  day  passed  In  the  great  exaltation  and  hope,  and  one 
evening  I  took  bread  and  broke  It,  saying  that  I  was  the 
bread  of  life  that  came  down  from  heaven  and  that  whoso- 
ever ate  of  it  had  everlasting  life  given  to  him.  After 
saying  these  words  a  great  disquiet  fell  upon  me,  and  call- 
ing my  disciples  together  I  asked  them  to  come  to  the  garden 
of  olives  with  me.     And  it  was  while  I  was  asking  God's 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  449 

forgiveness  for  my  blasphemies  that  the  emissaries  and 
agents  of  the  Priests  came  and  took  me  prisoner. 

At  the  touch  of  their  hands  the  belief  that  I  was  the 
Messiah  promised  to  the  Jews  rose  up  in  my  heart  again, 
and  when  the  priests  asked  me  if  I  were  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  Blessed,  I  answered,  I  am,  and  ye  shall  see  the 
son  of  man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  God ;  and  it  was 
not  till  hanging  on  the  cross  for  upwards  of  two  hours  that 
the  belief  I  had  come  down  from  heaven  to  do  our  Father's 
will  faded ;  again  much  that  I  had  said  seemed  to  me  evil 
and  blasphemous,  and  feeling  myself  about  to  die  I  called 
out  to  my  Father,  who  answered  my  call  at  once,  bringing 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  to  ask  the 
centurion  for  my  body  for  burial.  But  the  centurion  could 
not  deliver  me  unto  him  without  Pilate's  order,  and  both 
went  to  Pilate,  and  he  gave  me  to  Joseph  for  burial. 

Nor  did  our  Father  allow  the  swoon  to  be  lifted  till  Joseph 
entered  the  tomb  to  kiss  me  for  the  last  time.  It  was  then 
he  opened  my  eyes  and  I  saw  Joseph  standing  by  me,  a 
lantern  in  his  hand,  looking  at  me  .  .  .  for  the  last  time 
before  closing  the  tomb. 

He  lifted  me  on  to  his  shoulder  and  carried  me  up  a 
little  twisting  path  to  his  house,  and  an  old  woman, 
named  Esora,  attended  to  my  wounds  with  balsam,  and 
when  they  were  cured  Joseph  began  to  tell  me  that 
my  stay  in  his  house  was  dangerous  to  him  and  to  me,  and 
he  vaunted  to  me  in  turn  Caesarea  and  Antioch  as  cities  in 
which  I  should  be  safe  from  the  Jews.  But  my  mind  was 
so  weak  and  shaken  that  his  reasons  faded  from  my  mind 
and  I  sat  smiling  at  the  sunlight  like  one  bereft  of  sense. 
Strive  as  he  might,  he  could  not  awaken  me  from  the 
lethargy  in  which  I  was  sunken,  and  every  day  and  every 
week  increased  his  danger  and  mine;  and  it  was  not  till 
the  news  came  that  my  old  comrades  had  come  to  live  in 
the  Brook  Kerith  that  my  mind  began  to  awaken  and  to 

2G 


4SO  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

move  towards  a  resolution ;  an  outline  began  to  appear, 
when  I  said,  I  have  led  my  sheep  over  the  hills  yonder 
many  a  time,  and  tempted  me  to  speak  of  you  till  the 
desire  arose  in  me  to  see  you  again.  You  remember  our 
arrival  one  morning  at  daybreak  and  my  eagerness  to  see 
the  flock. 

Brother  Amos  was  glad  to  see  me  back  again,  and  in 
talking  of  the  flock  Joseph  was  almost  forgotten,  which 
shows  how  wandering  my  mind  was  at  the  time.  .  .  .  He 
left  without  seeing  me,  but  not  without  warning  Hazael 
not  to  question  me  else  my  mind  might  yield  to  the  strain, 
saying  that  it  hung  on  a  thread,  which  was  true,  and  I 
remember  how  for  many  a  year  every  cliff's  edge  tempted 
me  to  jump  over,  Joseph  was  gone  for  ever,  and  the 
memories  of  my  sins  were  as  tongues  of  flame  that  leaped 
by  turns  out  of  the  ashes.  But  the  fiercest  ashes  grow 
cold  in  time;  we  turn  them  over  without  fear  of  flame, 
and  last  night  I  said  to  Hazael  as  we  sat  together,  there 
is  a  sin  in  my  life  that  none  knows  of,  it  is  buried  fathoms 
deep  out  of  all  sight  of  men,  and  Hazael  having  said  there 
was  little  of  the  world's  time  in  front  of  him,  I  felt 
suddenly  I  could  not  conceal  from  him  any  longer  the 
sin  that  Joseph  had  not  dared  to  tell  him  —  that  I  had  once 
believed  myself  to  be  a  precursor  of  the  Messiah  like  many 
that  came  before  me,  but  unlike  any  other  I  began  to  believe 
myself  to  be  the  incarnate  word. 

A  soft,  vague  sound,  the  gurgle  of  the  brook,  rose  out  of 
the  stillness,  as  it  flowed  down  the  gorge  from  cavern  to 
to  cavern. 

After  a  little  while  Hazael  called  to  Manahem  and 
bade  him  relate  to  Jesus  the  story  Paul  had  told  them, 
and  when  Jesus  had  heard  the  story  he  was  overtaken 
with  a  great  pity  for  Paul.  But  thinkest  that  he  will 
believe  thee  ?  Hazael  asked,  lifting  his  chin  out  of  his 
beard,  and  the  calm  of  Jesus'  face  was  troubled  by  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  451 

question  and  he  sank  upon  a  stool  close  by  Hazael's  chair. 
What  may  we  do  ?  he  muttered,  and  the  Essenes  with- 
drew, for  they  guessed  that  the  elders  had  serious  words 
to  speak  together. 

Thou  hast  heard  my  story,  Hazael ;  nothing  remains 
now  but  to  bid  farewell  to  thy  old  friend.  To  say 
farewell,  Jesus,  Hazael  repeated,  why  should  we  say 
farewell  ?  Hazael,  the  rule  of  our  order  forbids  me  to 
stay,  Jesus  answered ;  those  who  commit  crimes  like  mine 
are  cast  out  and  left  to  starve  in  the  desert.  But,  Jesus, 
Hazael  replied,  thou  knowest  well  that  none  here  would 
put  thee  beyond  the  doors.  Thy  crimes,  whatever  they 
may  have  been,  are  between  thee  and  God.  It  is  for  thee 
to  repent,  and  from  hilltop  to  hilltop  thou  hast  prayed 
for  forgiveness,  and  through  all  the  valleys.  All  things 
in  the  end  rest  with  him.  Speak  to  us  not  of  going. 
But  if  God  had  forgiven  me,  Jesus  answered,  and  my 
blasphemies  against  him,  he  would  not  have  sent  this  man 
hither.  And  what  dost  thou  propose  to  do  ?  Hazael  asked, 
raising  his  head  from  his  beard  and  looking  Jesus  in  the  face. 

To  go  to  Jerusalem,  Jesus  answered,  and  to  tell  the 
people  that  I  was  not  raised  from  the  dead  by  God  to  open 
the  doors  of  heaven  to  Jews  and  infidels  alike.  But  who 
will  believe  thee  to  be  Jesus  that  Pilate  condemned  to  the 
cross  ?  Hazael  asked.  Twenty  years  have  gone  over,  and 
they  will  say :  a  poor,  insane  shepherd  from  the  Judean 
hills.  Be  this  as  it  may,  my  repentance  will  then  be 
complete,  Jesus  muttered.  But  thou  hast  repented, 
Hazael  wailed  in  his  beard.  But,  Jesus,  all  religions, 
except  ours,  are  founded  on  lies,  and  there  have  been 
thousands,  and  there  will  be  thousands  more.  Why  trouble 
thyself  about  the  races  that  cover  the  face  of  the  earth  or 
even  about  thine  own  race.  Let  thy  thoughts  not  stray 
from  this  group  of  Essenes  whom  thou  hast  known  always 
or  from  me  who  found  thee  in  Nazareth  and  took  thee  by 


452  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

the  hand.  Why  think  of  me  ?  It  is  enough  to  remember 
that  all  good  and  all  evil  (that  concern  us)  proceeds  from 
ourselves.  Hast  not  said  to  me  that  God  has  implanted 
a  sense  of  good  and  evil  in  our  hearts  and  that  it  is  by  this 
sense  that  we  know  him  rather  than  through  scrolls  and 
miracles  ?  Abide  by  thy  own  words,  Jesus.  Be  not  led  away 
again  by  an  impulse,  and  go  not  forth  again,  for  it  is  by 
going  forth,  as  thou  knowest,  that  we  fall  into  sin.  Wouldst 
try  once  more  to  make  others  according  to  thine  own  image 
and  likeness,  to  make  them  see  and  hear  and  feel  as  thou 
feelest,  seest,  and  hearest;  but  such  changes  may  not  be 
made  by  any  man  in  another.  We  may  not  alter  the  work 
of  God,  and  we  are  all  the  works  of  God,  each  shaped  out 
of  a  design  that  lay  in  the  back  of  his  mind  for  all  eternity. 
We  cannot  reshape  others  nor  ourselves,  and  why  do  I 
tell  things  thou  knowest  better  than  I  ?  The  thoughts 
that  I  am  teaching  now  are  thine  own  thoughts  related 
to  me  often  on  thy  return  from  the  hills  and  collected 
by  me  in  faithful  memory.  Hast  forgotten,  Jesus,  having 
said  to  me,  the  world  cannot  be  remoulded,  all  men  may  not 
be  saved,  only  a  few,  by  the  grace  of  God  ?  I  said  these 
things  to  thee,  Hazael,  but  what  did  I  say  but  my  thoughts, 
and  what  are  my  thoughts  ?  Lighter  than  the  bloom  of 
dandelion  floating  on  the  hills.  It  is  not  to  our  own 
thought  we  must  look  for  guidance,  but  God's  thoughts, 
which  are  deep  in  us  and  clear  in  us,  but  we  do  not  listen 
and  are  led  away  by  our  reason.  My  sin  was  to  have 
preached  John  as  well  as  myself.  I  strayed  beyond  myself 
and  lost  myself  in  the  love  of  God,  a  thing  a  man  may  do  if 
he  love  not  his  fellows.  My  sin  was  not  to  have  loved 
men  enough.  But  we  are  as  God  made  us,  and  must  do  the 
best  we  can  with  ourselves. 

Jesus  waited  for  Hazael  to  answer  him,  but  Hazael 
made  no  answer,  but  sat  like  a  stone,  his  head  hanging 
upon  his  chest.     Why  dost  thou  not  answer,  Hazael  ?    he 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  453 

said,  and  Hazael  answered :  Jesus,  my  thoughts  were  away. 
I  was  thinking  of  last  night,  of  our  talk  together  in  that 
balcony  —  I  was  thinking,  Jesus,  how  sweet  life  is  in  the 
beginning,  and  how  it  grows  bitter  in  the  mouth ;  and 
the  end  seems  bitter  indeed  when  we  think  of  the  gladness 
that  day  when  we  walked  through  the  garlanded  streets 
of  our  first  day  together  in  Nazareth.  It  was  in  the  spring- 
time of  our  lives  and  of  the  year.  How  delightful  it  was 
for  me  to  find  one  like  thee  so  eager  to  understand  the 
life  of  the  Essenes :  so  eager  to  join  us.  Such  delight 
I  shall  not  find  again.  We  spoke  last  night  of  our  journey 
from  Nazareth  to  Jerusalem  and  across  the  Jordan.  Thou 
wouldst  not  follow  thy  father's  trade,  but  would  lead  flocks 
from  the  hills,  and  becamest  in  time  the  best  shepherd, 
it  is  said,  ever  known  in  the  hills.  No  one  ever  had  an  eye 
for  a  ram  or  ewe  like  thee,  and  of  thy  cure  for  scab  all  the 
shepherds  are  envious.  We  were  proud  of  our  shepherd, 
but  he  met  John  and  came  to  me  saying  that  God  had  called 
him  to  go  forth  and  convert  the  world.  Since  God  has 
placed  thee  here,  I  said,  how  is  it  that  he  should  come 
and  call  thee  away  now  ?  And  thou  wast  eager  with  expla- 
nation up  and  down  the  terraces  till  we  reached  the  bridge. 
We  crossed  it  and  followed  the  path  and  under  the  cliffs  till 
we  came  to  the  road  that  leads  to  Jerusalem.  It  was  there 
we  said  farewell.  Two  years  or  more  passed  away,  and  then 
Joseph  brought  thee  back.  A  tired,  suffering  man  whose 
wits  were  half  gone  and  who  recovered  them  slowly,  but  who 
did  not  recover  them  while  leading  his  flock.  How  often 
have  we  talked  of  its  increase,  and  now  we  shall  never  talk 
again  of  rams  and  ewes  nor  of  thy  meditations  in  the  desert 
and  on  the  hilltops  and  in  the  cave  at  night.  So  much  to  me 
were  these  sweet  returnings  of  thee  from  the  hills  that  my 
hope  was  that  the  dawn  was  drawing  nigh  when  thou 
wouldst  return  no  more  to  the  hills,  and  yesternight  was  a 
happy  night  when  we  sat  together  on  the  balcony  indulging 


454  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

in  recollection,  thinking  that  henceforth  we  should  live  within 
sight  of  each  other's  faces  always.  My  hope  last  night 
was  that  it  would  be  thou  that  wouldst  close  my  eyes  and 
lay  me  in  a  rock  sepulchre  out  of  reach  of  the  hyenas.  But 
my  hopes  have  all  vanished  now.  Thou  art  about  to  leave 
me.  The  brethren  ?  No,  they  will  not  leave  me,  but  even 
should  all  remain,  if  thou  be  not  here  I  shall  be  as  alone. 

But,  Hazael,  all  may  be  as  thou  sayest,  the  Jews  will  wel- 
come me,  Jesus  answered.  I  am  no  longer  the  enemy; 
Paul  is  the  enemy  of  Judaism  and  I  am  become  the 
testimony.  Judaism,  he  says,  is  the  root  that  bears  the 
branches,  and  if  I  go  to  Jerusalem  and  tell  the  Jews  that 
the  Nazarene  whom  Pilate  put  upon  the  cross  still  lives  in 
the  flesh,  they  will  rejoice  exceedingly,  and  send  agents 
and  emissaries  after  him  wherever  he  goes.  Paul  perse- 
cuted me  and  my  disciples,  and  now  it  would  seem  that 
my  hand  is  turned  against  him.  Remain  with  us,  Hazael 
cried.  Forget  the  world,  leave  it  to  itself  and  fear  not; 
one  lie  more  will  make  no  difference  in  a  world  that  has 
lived  upon  lies  from  the  beginning  of  time.  A  counsel 
that  tempts  me,  for  I  would  begin  no  persecution  against 
Paul,  but  the  lie  has  spread  and  will  run  all  over  the  world 
even  as  a  single  mustard  seed,  and  the  seed  is  of  my  sowing; 
all  returns  to  me;  that  Paul  was  able  to  follow  the  path 
is  certain  testimony  that  he  was  sent  by  God  to  me,  and 
that  I  am  called  to  be  about  my  Father's  work.  As 
thou  sayest,  things  repeat  themselves.  Farewell,  Hazael. 
Farewell,  my  father  in  the  faith.  So  there  is  no  detaining 
thee,  my  dear  son,  and,  rising  from  his  seat,  Hazael  put  a 
staff  in  Jesus'  hand  and  hung  a  scrip  about  his  neck.     If 

thy  business  be  done  perhaps But  no,  let  us  indulge 

in  no  false  hopes.  Neither  will  look  upon  the  other's  face 
again.  Jesus  did  not  answer,  and  returning  to  the  balcony 
Hazael  said :  I  will  sit  here  and  watch  thee  for  the  last 
time. 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  455 

But  Jesus  did  not  raise  his  eyes  until  he  reached  the 
bridge,  and  then  he  took  the  path  that  led  by  the  cenobies 
of  other  days,  and  walked  hastily,  for  he  was  too  agitated 
to  think.  A  little  in  front  of  him  some  hundred  yards  a 
great  rock  overhung  the  path,  and  when  he  came  there 
he  stopped,  for  it  was  the  last  point  from  which  he  could 
have  sight  of  the  balcony.  As  he  stood  looking  back, 
shading  his  eyes  with  his  hand,  he  saw  two  of  the  brethren 
come  and  touch  Hazael  on  the  shoulder.  As  he  did  not 
raise  his  head  to  answer,  they  consulted  together,  and 
Jesus  hurried  away  lest  some  sudden  and  impetuous  emo- 
tion should  call  him  back  from  his  errand. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

A  SMALL  black  bird  with  yellow  wings,  usually  met  with 
along  the  brook  flitting  from  stone  to  stone,  diverted  his 
thoughts  from  Jerusalem  and  set  him  wondering  what 
instinct  had  brought  the  bird  up  from  the  brook  on  to  a 
dry  hilltop.  The  bird  must  have  sensed  the  coming  rain, 
he  said,  and  he  came  up  here  to  escape  the  torrent.  On 
looking  round  the  sky  for  confirmation  of  the  bird's  in- 
stinct, he  saw  dark  clouds  gathering  everywhere  and  in 
a  manner  that  to  his  shepherd's  eye  betokened  rain.  The 
bird  seems  a  little  impatient  with  the  clouds  for  not 
breaking,  he  continued,  and  at  that  moment  the  bird 
turned  sharply  from  the  rock  on  which  he  was  about  to 
alight,  and  Jesus,  divining  a  cause  for  the  change  of  in- 
tention, sought  behind  the  rock  for  it  and  found  it  in  a 
man  laying  there  with  foam  upon  his  lips.  He  seemed  to 
Jesus  like  one  returning  to  himself  out  of  a  great  swoon, 
and  helping  him  to  his  feet  Jesus  seated  him  on  a  rock. 
In  a  little  while,  Paul  said,  I  shall  be  able  to  continue  my 
journey.  Thou'rt  Jesus,  whom  I  left  speaking  in  the 
cenoby.  Give  me  a  little  water  to  drink.  I  forgot  to  fill 
the  bottle  before  I  left  the  brook,  Jesus  answered.  There 
is  a  little  left,  but  not  the  fresh  Water  that  I  would  like 
to  give  thee,  Paul,  but  water  from  overnight.  It  matters 
not,  Paul  said,  and  having  drunk  a  little  and  bathed  his 
temples,  Paul  asked  Jesus  to  help  him  to  his  feet,  but  after 
a  few  yards  he  tottered  into  Jesus'  arms  and  had  to  rest 
again,  and  while  resting  he  said  :  I  rushed  out  of  the  cenoby, 
for  I  felt  the  swoon  was  nigh  upon  me.     I  am  sorry  to  have 

4S6 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  457 

interrupted  thy  discourse,  he  added,  but  refrain  from  re- 
peating any  of  it,  for  my  brain  is  too  tired  to  Hsten  to  thee. 
Thou'lt  understand  the  weakness  of  a  sick  man  and  pardon 
me.  Now  I'm  beginning  to  remember.  I  had  a  promise 
from  thee  to  lead  me  out  of  this  desert.  Yes,  Paul,  I  prom- 
ised to  guide   thee   to  Caesarea But  I  rushed    away, 

Paul  said,  and  thou  hast  followed  me,  knowing  well  that  I 
should  not  find  my  way  alone  to  Caesarea.  I  should  have 
missed  it  and  perhaps  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews  or 
fallen  over  the  precipice  and  become  food  for  vultures. 
Now  my  strength  is  coming  back  to  me,  but  without  thee 
I  shall  not  find  my  way  out  of  the  desert.  Fear  nothing, 
Paul,  I  shall  not  leave  thee  till  I  have  seen  thee  safely  on 
thy  way  to  Caesarea  or  within  sight  of  that  city.  Thou 
hast  come  to  guide  me  ?  Paul  asked,  looking  up.  Yes,  to 
guide  thee,  Paul,  to  accompany  thee  to  Caesarea,  if  not  all 
the  way  the  greater  part  of  it,  Jesus  answered.  Thou'lt 
sleep  to-morrow  at  a  village  about  two  hours  from  Caesarea, 
and  there  we  shall  part.  But  be  not  afraid.  I'll  not  leave 
thee  till  thou'rt  safe  out  of  reach  of  the  Jews.  But  I  must 
be  at  Caesarea  to-morrow,  Paul  said,  or  else  my  mission  to 
Italy  and  Spain  will  be  delayed,  perhaps  forfeited.  My 
mission  to  Spain,  dost  hear  me  ?  Do  not  speak  of  thy  mis- 
sion now,  Jesus  answered,  for  he  was  afraid  lest  a  discussion 
might  spring  up  between  him  and  Paul,  and  he  was  glad 
when  Paul  asked  him  how  it  was  he  had  come  upon  him 
in  this  great  wilderness.  He  asked  Jesus  if  he  had  traced 
his  footsteps  in  the  sand,  or  if  an  angel  had  guided  him. 
My  eyes  are  not  young  enough  to  follow  footsteps  in  the  sand, 
Jesus  replied,  and  I  saw  no  angel,  but  a  bird  turned  aside 
from  the  rock  on  which  he  was  about  to  alight  abruptly,  and 
going  to  seek  the  cause  of  it  I  found  thee.  .  .  .  Now  if  thy 
strength  be  coming  back  we  will  try  to  walk  a  little  farther. 
I'll  lean  on  thee,  and  then,  just  as  if  Paul  felt  that  Jesus 
might  tell  him  once  again  that  he  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth 


4S8  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

whom  Pilate  had  condemned  to  the  cross,  he  began  to  put 
questions :  was  Jesus  sure  that  it  was  not  an  angel  dis- 
guised as  a  bird  that  had  directed  him  ?  Jesus  could  only 
answer  that  as  far  as  he  knew  the  bird  was  a  bird  and  no 
more.  But  birds  and  angels  are  alike  contained  within  the 
will  of  God ;  whereupon  Paul  invited  Jesus  to  speak  of 
the  angels  that  doubtless  alighted  among  the  rocks  and 
conversed  with  the  Essenes  without  fear  of  falling  into  sin, 
there  being  no  women  in  the  cenoby.  But  in  the  churches 
and  synagogues  it  was  different,  and  he  had  always  taught 
that  women  must  be  careful  to  cover  their  hair  under  veils 
lest  angels  might  be  tempted.  For  the  soiled  angel,  he 
explained,  is  unable  to  return  to  heaven,  and  therefore  passes 
into  the  bodies  of  men  and  women  and  becomes  a  demon, 
and  when  the  soiled  angels  can  find  neither  men  nor  women  to 
descend  into  they  abide  in  animals,  and  become  arch  demons. 
Paul,  who  had  seemed  to  Jesus  to  have  recovered  a 
great  part  of  his  strength,  spoke  with  great  volubility  and 
vehemence,  saying  that  angels  were  but  the  messengers 
of  God,  and  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  world  God  must 
have  messengers,  but  angels  had  no  power  to  carry  messages 
from  man  back  to  God.  There  was  but  one  Mediator,  and 
he  was  on  the  point  of  saying  that  this  Mediator  was  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  but  he  checked  himself,  and  said  instead 
that  the  power  to  perform  miracles  was  not  transmitted 
from  God  to  man  by  means  of  angels.  Angels,  he  continued, 
were  no  more  than  God's  messengers,  and  he  related  that 
when  he  had  shed  a  mist  and  darkness  over  the  eyes  of 
Elymas,  the  soothsayer  in  Cyprus,  he  had  received  the 
power  to  do  so  direct  from  God ;  he  affirmed  too,  and  in 
great  earnestness,  that  it  was  not  an  angel  but  God  himself 
that  had  prompted  him  to  tell  the  cripple  at  Iconium  to 
stand  upright  on  his  feet ;  he  had  been  warned  in  a  vision  not 
fo  go  into  Bithynia ;  and  at  Troas  a  man  had  appeared 
to   him   in   the   night    and   ordered    him    to   come  over  to 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  459 

Macedonia,  which  was  his  country;  he  did  not  know  if 
the  man  was  a  real  man  in  the  flesh  or  the  spirit  of  a  man 
who  had  lived  in  the  flesh :  but  he  was  not  an  angel.  Of 
that  Paul  was  sure  and  certain ;  then  he  related  how  he 
had  taken  ship  and  sailed  to  Samothrace,  and  next  day 
to  Neapolis,  and  the  next  day  to  Philippi,  and  how  in  the 
city  of  Thyatira  he  had  bidden  a  demon  depart  out  of  a 
certain  damsel  who  brought  her  master  much  gain  by  sooth- 
saying. And  for  doing  this  he  had  been  cast  into  prison. 
He  knew  not  of  angels,  and  it  was  an  earthquake  that 
caused  the  prison  doors  to  open  and  not  an  angel.  Peter 
had  met  angels,  but  he,  Paul,  had  never  met  one,  he  knew 
naught  of  angels,  except  the  terrible  Kosmokratores,  the 
rulers  of  this  world,  the  planetary  spirits  of  the  Chaldeans, 
and  he  feared  angel  worship,  and  had  spoken  to  the  Colossians 
against  it,  saying :  remember  there  is  always  but  one  Media- 
tor between  God  and  man,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  who  came 
to  deliver  us  from  those  usurping  powers  and  their  chief, 
the  Prince  of  the  Powers  of  the  Air.  They  it  was,  as  he  had 
told  the  Corinthians,  that  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory.  But 
perhaps  even  they  may  be  saved,  for  they  knew  not  what 
they  did. 

Jesus  was  afraid  that  Paul's  vehemence  would  carry 
him  on  into  another  fit  like  the  one  that  he  had  just  come 
out  of,  and  he  was  glad  to  meet  a  shepherd,  who  passed 
his  water-bottle  to  Paul.  Fill  thy  bottle  from  mine,  the 
shepherd  said  to  Jesus,  and  there  is  half-a-loaf  of  bread 
in  my  wallet  which  I'd  like  thee  to  have  to  share  with  thy 
traveller  in  the  morning,  else  he  will  not  be  able  to  begin  the 
journey  again.  Nay,  do  not  fear  to  take  it,  he  said,  my 
wife'll  have  prepared  supper  for  me.  Jesus  took  the  bread 
and  bade  his  mate  farewell.  There  is  a  cave,  Paul,  Jesus 
said,  in  yonder  valley  which  we  can  make  safe  against 
wolves  and  panthers.  Lean  on  my  arm.  Thy  head  is 
still  a  trouble ;  drink  a  little  more  water.     See,  the  shepherd 


46o  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

has  given  me  half-a-loaf,  which  we  will  share  in  the  morning. 
Come,  the  cave  is  not  far :  in  yon  valley.  Paul  raised  his 
eyes,  and  they  reasoned  with  vague,  pathetic  appeal,  for 
at  that  moment  Jesus  was  the  stronger.  Since  it  must  be 
so,  I'll  try,  he  said,  and  he  tottered,  leaning  heavily  on 
Jesus  for  what  seemed  to  him  a  long  way  and  then  stopped. 
I  can  go  no  farther ;  thou  wouldst  do  well  to  leave  me  to 
the  hyenas.  Go  thy  way.  But  Jesus  continued  to  en- 
courage him,  saying  that  the  cave  in  which  they  were  to  rest 
was  at  the  end  of  the  valley,  and  when  Paul  asked  how  many 
yards  distant,  he  did  not  answer  the  exact  distance,  but 
halved  it,  so  that  Paul  might  be  heartened  and  encouraged, 
and  when  the  distance  mentioned  had  been  traversed  and 
the  cave  was  still  far  away  he  bore  with  Paul's  reproaches 
and  answered  them  with  kindly  voice :  we  shall  soon  be 
there,  another  few  steps  will  bring  us  into  it,  and  it  isn't 
a  long  valley;  only  a  gutter,  Paul  answered,  the  way  the 
rains  have  worn  through  the  centuries.  A  strange  desert, 
the  strangest  we  have  seen  yet,  and  I  have  travelled  a 
thousand  leagues  but  never  seen  one  so  melancholy.  I 
like  better  the  great  desert.  I  have  lived  all  my  life  among 
these  hills,  Jesus  replied,  and  to  my  eyes  they  have  lost 
their  melancholy. 

All  thy  life  in  these  deserts,  Paul  replied  eagerly,  and 
his  manner  softened  and  became  almost  winning.  Thou'lt 
forgive,  he  said,  any  abruptness  there  may  have  been  in 
my  speech.  I  am  speaking  differently  from  my  wont,  but 
to-morrow  I  shall  be  in  health  and  able  to  follow  thee  and 
to  listen  with  interest  to  thy  tales  of  shepherding  among 
these  hills  of  which  thou  must  know  a  goodly  number.  My 
speech  is  improving,  isn't  it  ?  answer  me.  Jesus  answered 
that  he  understood  Paul  very  well ;  and  could  tell  him  many 
stories  of  flocks,  pillaging  by  robbers  and  fights  between 
brave  Thracian  dogs  and  wolves,  and  if  such  stories  in- 
terested Paul  he  could  relate  them.     But  here  is  our  -cave. 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  461 

he  said,  pointing  to  a  passage  between  the  rocks.  We  must 
go  down  on  our  hands  and  knees  to  enter  it ;  and  in  answer 
to  Paul,  who  was  anxious  to  know  the  depth  of  the  cave, 
Jesus  averred  that  he  only  knew  the  cave  through  having 
once  looked  into  it.  The  caves  we  know  best  are  the  vast 
caves  into  which  the  shepherd  can  gather  his  flocks,  trusting 
to  his  dogs  to  scent  the  approach  of  a  wild  animal  and  to 
awaken  him.  Go  first  and  I'll  follow  thee,  and  Jesus  crawled 
till  the  rocks  opened  above  him  and  he  stood  up  in  what  Paul 
described  as  a  bowel  in  the  mountain ;  a  long  cave  it  was, 
surely,  twisting  for  miles  through  the  darkness,  and  especially 
evil-smelling,  Paul  said.  Because  of  the  bats,  Jesus  an- 
swered, and  looking  up  they  saw  the  vermin  hanging  among 
the  clefts,  a  sort  of  hideous  fruit,  measuring  three  feet  from 
wing  to  wing,  Paul  muttered,  and  as  large  as  rats.  We 
shall  see  them  drop  from  their  roosts  as  the  sky  darkens  and 
flit  away  in  search  of  food,  Jesus  said.  Paul  asked  what 
food  they  could  find  in  the  desert,  and  Jesus  answered :  we 
are  not  many  miles  from  Jericho  and  these  winged  rats 
travel  a  long  way.  In  Brook  Kerith  they  are  destructive 
among  our  figs;  we  take  many  in  traps.  Our  rule  forbids 
us  to  take  life,  but  we  cannot  lose  all  our  figs.  I've  often 
wondered  why  we  hesitate  to  light  bundles  of  damp  straw 
in  these  caves,  for  that  is  the  way  to  reduce  the  multitudes, 
which  are  worse  than  the  locusts,  for  they  are  eaten ;  and 
Jesus  told  stories  of  the  locust-eating  hermits  he  had  known, 
omitting,  however,  all  mention  of  the  Baptist,  so  afraid  was 
he  lest  he  might  provoke  Paul  into  disputation.  See,  he  said, 
that  great  fellow  clinging  to  that  ledge,  he  is  beginning  to  be 
conscious  of  the  sun  setting,  and  a  moment  after  the  bat 
flopped  away,  passing  close  over  their  heads  into  the  evening 
air,  followed  soon  after  by  dozens  of  male  and  female  and 
many  half-grown  bats  that  were  a  few  months  before  on 
the  dug,  a  stinking  colony,  that  the  wayfarers  were  glad 
to  be  rid  of.     But  they'll  be  in  and  out  the  whole  night. 


462  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

Jesus  said,  and  I  know  of  no  other  cave  within  reach  where 
we  can  sleep  safely.  Sometimes  the  wild  cats  come  after 
them  and  then  there  is  much  squealing.  But  think  no  more 
of  them.  I  will  roll  up  my  sheepskin  for  a  pillow  for  thee, 
and  sleep  as  well  as  thou  mayest,  comrade,  for  to-morrow's 
march  Is  a  long  one. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

IT  was  as  Jesus  had  said,  the  bats  kept  coming  in  and 
going  out  all  the  night  through,  and  their  squeakings  as 
they  settled  themselves  to  sleep  a  little  before  dawn 
awakened  Paul,  who,  lifting  his  head  from  the  sheepskin 
that  Jesus  had  rolled  into  a  comfortable  pillow  for  him, 
spied  Jesus  asleep  in  a  corner,  and  he  began  to  ask  him- 
self if  he  should  awaken  Jesus  or  let  him  sleep  a  little  while 
longer.  But  myself,  he  said,  must  escape  from  the  stifle 
of  this  cave  and  the  reek  of  the  bats,  and,  dropping  on  his 
hands  and  knees,  he  crawled  into  the  air. 

It  was  a  great  joy  to  draw  the  pure  air  into  his  lungs, 
to  drink  a  deep  draught,  and  to  look  round  for  a  wild  cat. 
One  may  be  lurking,  he  said,  impatient  for  our  departure, 
and  as  soon  as  we  go  will  creep  in  and  spring  among  the 
roosts  and  carry  off  the  flopping,  squeaking  morsel.  But 
if  a  cat  had  been  there  licking  her  fur,  waiting  for  the  tire- 
some wayfarers  to  depart,  she  would  have  remained  undis- 
covered to  Paul's  eyes,  so  thick  was  the  shadow,  and  it  was 
a  long  time  before  the  valley  lengthened  out  and  the  rocks 
reassumed  their  different  shapes. 

He  was  in  a  long,  narrow  valley  between  steep  hills,  with 
a  path  zigzagging  up  the  hillside  at  the  farther  end,  among 
rocks  that  set  Paul  thinking  of  the  little  that  would  remain 
of  his  sandals  before  they  reached  Caesarea. 

A  long  day's  march  of  twelve  or  thirteen  hours  lay  before 
him,  one  that  he  would  have  been  able  to  undertake  in  the 
old  days  without  a  thought  of  failure,  but  it  was  over  and 
above   his   strength   to-day.     But  was   it  ?     It   seemed   to 

463 


464  THE  BROOK   KERITH 

him  that  he  could  walk  a  long  way  if  the  present  breeze 
that  had  come  up  with  the  day  were  to  continue.  It  came 
up  the  valley,  delicious  as  spring  water,  but  suddenly  he 
recognised  in  it  the  smell  of  a  wild  animal ;  the  sour  smell 
of  wolves,  he  said  to  himself,  and  looking  among  the  rocks 
he  spied  two  large  wolves  not  more  than  fifty  yards  distant. 
It  is  fortunate,  he  said,  that  the  wind  is  blowing  from  them 
to  me,  else  they  would  have  scented  me;  and  Paul  watched 
the  lolloping  gait  of  the  wolves  till  they  were  out  of  sight, 
and  then  descending  from  the  rock  he  returned  to  the  cave, 
thinking  he  had  done  wrong  to  leave  it,  for  he  had  intrusted 
himself  to  Jesus,  and  perforce  to  clear  his  conscience  had 
to  confide  to  him  he  had  been  out  in  the  valley  and  seen  two 
wolves  go  by.  But  they  did  not  scent  me,  the  wind  being 
unfavourable.  If  they  had,  and  been  hungry,  it  might 
have  gone  hard  with  thee,  Jesus  said,  and  then  he  spoke  of 
Bethennabrio,  a  village  within  a  dozen  miles  of  Caesarea 
in  which  Paul  would  sleep  that  night.  Thou  canst  not  get 
to  Caesarea  to-night,  Jesus  affirmed  to  him,  and  they  resumed 
their  journey  through  a  country  that  seemed  to  grow  more 
arid  and  melancholy  as  they  advanced. 

Paul  complained  often  that  he  had  come  by  a  more  direct 
and  a  better  way  with  Timothy,  but  Jesus  insisted  that 
the  way  they  were  going  was  not  many  miles  longer  than 
the  way  Paul  had  come  by.  Moreover,  the  way  he  was 
taking  was  safer  to  follow.  The  Jews  of  Jericho  had  had 
many  hours  in  which  to  lay  plans  for  his  capture,  but  Jesus 
thought  that  if  Paul  would  believe  in  him  he  would  be  able 
to  get  him  in  safety  to  the  village  of  Bethennabrio,  where 
Paul  thought  he  would  be  safe;  the  Jews  would  not  dare 
to  arrest  a  Roman  prisoner,  one  who  had  been  ordered  by 
Festus  to  Italy  to  receive  Caesar's  judgment,  within  a  few 
miles  of  Caesarea.  Thou'lt  be  within  two  hours  of  Caesarea, 
Jesus  said,  and  canst  look  forward  to  seeing  thy  comrade 
Timothy  the    next    day.      Jesus'  words    brought    comfort 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  465 

to  Paul's  heart  and  helped  him  to  forget  his  feet  that  were 
beginning  to  pain  him.  But  a  long  distance  would  still 
have  to  be  traversed,  and  his  eyes  wandered  over  the  out- 
lines of  the  round-backed  hills  divided  by  steep  valleys,  so 
much  alike  that  he  asked  himself  how  it  was  that  Jesus 
could  distinguish  one  from  the  other;  but  his  guide  seemed 
to  divine  the  way  as  by  instinct,  and  Paul  struggled  on, 
encouraged  by  a  promise  of  a  half-hour's  rest  as  soon  as 
they  reached  the  summit  of  the  hill  before  them.  But  no 
sooner  had  they  reached  it  than  Jesus  said,  come  behind 
this  rock  and  hide  thyself  quickly.  And  when  he  was 
safely  hidden  Jesus  said,  now  peep  over  the  top  and  thou'lt 
see  a  shepherd  leading  his  sheep  along  the  hillside.  What 
of  that .?  Paul  answered,  and  Jesus  said,  not  much,  only  I 
am  thinking  whether  it  would  be  well  to  let  him  go  his  way 
without  putting  a  question  to  him,  or  whether  it  would  be 
better  to  leave  thee  here  while  I  go  to  him  with  the  inten- 
tion of  finding  out  from  him  if  there  be  tidings  going  about 
that  one  Paul  of  Tarsus,  a  spreader  of  great  heresies,  a 
pestilential  fellow,  a  stirrer-up  of  sedition,  has  been  seen 
wandering,  trying  to  find  his  way  back  to  Caesarea. 

The  shepherd  was  passing  away  over  the  crest  of  the 
hill  when  Jesus  said,  the  pretext  will  come  to  me  on  my 
way  to  him.  Do  thou  abide  here  till  I  return,  and  Paul 
watched  him  running,  lurching  from  side  to  side  over  the 
rough  ground  towards  the  shepherd,  still  far  away.  Will  he 
overtake  him  before  he  passes  out  of  sight  and  hearing  ? 
he  asked  himself. 

The  sheep  were  running  merrily,  and  the  breeze  carried 
down  to  Paul's  ear  the  sound  of  the  pipe,  setting  him  think- 
ing of  the  Patriarchs  and  then  of  his  guide;  only  mad,  he 
said,  in  one  corner  of  his  brain,  convinced  that  he  returned 
to  the  Essenes  because  he  had  said  in  Jerusalem  that  he  was 
the  Messiah.  A  strange  blasphemy,  he  muttered,  and  yet 
not  strange  enough  to  save  the  brethren  from  the  infection 

2H 


466  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

of  it.  It  would  seem  that  they  beheve  with  him  that 
he  suffered  under  Pilate,  without  knowing,  however,  for 
what  crime  he  was  punished ;  and  a  terrible  curiosity  arose 
in  Paul  to  learn  the  true  story  of  his  guide's  life,  who,  he 
judged,  might  be  led  into  telling  it  if  care  were  taken  not 
to  arouse  his  suspicion.  But  these  madmen  are  full  of  cun- 
ning, he  said  to  himself,  and  when  Jesus  returned  Paul 
asked  if  he  had  discovered  from  the  shepherd  if  an  order 
was  abroad  from  Jericho  to  arrest  two  itinerant  preachers 
on  their  way  to  Caesarea.  Jesus  answered  him  that  he  had 
put  no  direct  question  to  the  shepherd.  He  had  talked  to 
him  of  the  prospect  of  future  rains,  and  we  were  both  agreed, 
Jesus  said,  that  the  sky  looked  like  rain,  and  he  told  me  we 
should  find  water  in  the  valley  collected  in  pools  among 
the  rocks ;  he  mentioned  one  by  a  group  of  fig-trees  which 
we  could  not  miss  seeing.  Thou  art  safe,  Paul,  have  no 
fear  for  thy  safe  arrival  at  Caesarea  at  midday  to-morrow. 
If  a  search  had  been  ordered  to  arrest  two  wayfarers  my 
shepherd  would  have  heard  of  it,  for  it  was  about  here  that 
they  would  try  to  intercept  us,  and  we  shall  do  well  to  turn 
into  a  path  that  they  will  overlook  even  if  they  have  sent 
out  agents  in  pursuit  of  thee  and  Timothy. 


CHAPTER  XL 

BY  midday  they  reached  a  region  more  ragged  than  the 
one  they  had  come  out  of.  The  path  they  followed  zig- 
zagged up  steep  ascents  and  descended  into  crumbling 
valleys  and  plains  filled  with  split  stones,  rubble,  and  sand, 
a  desert  truly,  without  sign  of  a  living  thing  till  the  shadow 
of  an  eagle's  wings  passed  over  the  hot  stones.  Jesus  told 
Paul  that  the  birds  nested  up  among  the  clefts  yonder 
and  were  most  destructive  in  the  spring  when  the  ewes 
were  lambing.  Having  to  feed  three  or  four  eaglets,  he 
said,  the  birds  would  descend  on  the  flocks,  the  she-eagle, 
the  larger,  stronger,  and  fiercer,  will  attack  and  drive  oflF 
even  the  dog  that  does  not  fear  a  wolf,  yet  I  have  seen, 
he  continued,  a  timid  ewe,  her  youngling  behind  her  in 
a  coign  in  the  hill,  face  the  bird  fiercely  and  butt  him  till 
she  lost  her  eyes,  poor  ewe,  for  I  came  up  too  late  with  my 
staff.  And  the  lamb  ?  Paul  inquired  :  was  far  away,  Jesus 
answered,  aloft  among  the  eaglets. 

Jesus  had  stories  of  wolves  and  hyenas  to  beguile  the  way 
with,  and  he  pointed  with  his  staff  to  the  narrow  paths 
above  them  up  which  they  would  have  to  climb.  But  be 
not  discouraged,  he  said,  we  shall  be  in  a  better  country 
presently;  as  soon  as  we  pass  the  hill  yonder  we  shall  begin 
to  descend  into  the  plain,  another  three  leagues  beyond 
yon  hill  we  shall  be  where  we  bid  each  other  farewell.  Paul 
answered  he  was  leaving  Palestine  for  ever.  His  way  was 
first  to  Italy  and  then  to  Spain  and  afterwards  his  life  would 
be  over,  his  mission  fulfilled,  but  he  was  glad  to  have  been 
to  Jericho  to  have  seen  the  Jordan,  the  river  in  which  John 

467 


468  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

had  baptized  Jesus,  He  was  sorry  now  when  it  was  too 
late  that  he  had  never  been  to  GaHlee,  and  Jesus  told  of 
wooded  hills  rising  gently  from  the  lake  shore,  and  he  took 
pleasure  in  relating  the  town  of  Magdala  and  the  house  of 
Dan  of  Arimathea,  Joseph's  father,  and  the  great  industry 
he  had  established  there;  he  continued  talking,  showing 
such  an  intimate  and  personal  knowledge  of  Galilee  that 
Paul  could  not  doubt  that  he  was  what  he  professed  to  be, 
a  Nazarene.  There  were  hundreds  of  Nazarenes,  many 
of  which  were  called  Jesus :  but  there  was  only  one  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  He  did  not  say  this  to  Jesus ;  but  after  Jesus 
had  asked  him  how  it  was  that  he  who  had  travelled  the 
world  over  had  never  turned  into  Galilee,  he  replied  that 
the  human  life  of  Jesus  in  Galilee  concerned  him  not  at  all 
and  his  teaching  very  little.  He  taught  all  the  virtues, 
but  these  were  known  to  humanity  from  the  beginning; 
they  are  in  the  law  that  God  revealed  to  Moses.  Even 
pagans  know  of  them.  The  Greeks  have  expounded  them 
excellently  well.  A  teacher  Jesus  was  and  a  great  teacher, 
but  far  more  important  was  the  fact  that  God  had  raised 
him  from  the  dead,  thereby  placing  him  above  all  the 
prophets  and  near  to  God  himself.  So  I  have  always  taught 
that  if  Jesus  were  not  raised  from  the  dead  our  teaching  is 
vain.  A  miracle,  he  said,  and  he  looked  into  Jesus'  face 
just  as  if  he  suspected  him  to  be  thinking  that  something 
more  than  a  miracle  was  needed  to  convince  the  world  of 
the  truth  of  Paul's  doctrine.  A  miracle,  to  the  truth  of 
which  more  than  five  hundred  have  already  testified.  First 
he  appeared  to  Mary  and  Martha,  afterwards  to  Cleopas 
and  Khuza.  On  the  way  to  Emmaus  he  stayed  and  supped 
with  them  and  afterwards  he  appeared  to  the  Twelve. 
Hast  met  all  the  Twelve  and  consulted  with  them  ?  Jesus 
asked,  and  Paul,  a  little  irritated  by  the  interruption, 
answered  that  he  had  seen  Peter  and  John  and  James  and 
Philip  but  he  knew  not  the  others;    and,  of  course,  James, 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  469 

the  brother  of  the  Lord.  Tell  me  about  him,  Jesus  answered. 
He  admits  Jesus  as  a  prophet  among  the  others  but  no  more, 
and  observes  the  Law  more  strictly  than  any  other  Jew,  a 
narrow-minded  bigot  that  has  opposed  my  teaching  as 
bitterly  as  the  priests  themselves.  It  was  he  who,  Paul 
began,  but  Jesus  interrupted  and  asked  about  Peter.  Where 
was  he  ?  And  what  doctrine  is  he  preaching  ?  Paul  an- 
swered that  Peter  was  at  Antioch,  though  why  he  should  choose 
to  live  there  has  always  seemed  strange  to  me,  for  he  does 
not  speak  Greek.  But  what  trade  does  he  follow  ?  Jesus 
asked.  There  are  marshes  and  lakes  about  Antioch,  Paul 
replied,  and  these  are  well  stocked  with  fish,  of  a  quality 
inferior,  however,  to  those  he  used  to  catch  in  the  lake  of 
Gennesaret,  but  still  fish  for  which  there  is  some  sale.  He 
and  John  own  some  boats  and  they  ply  up  and  down  the 
marshes,  and  draw  up  a  living  in  their  nets,  a  poor  and 
uncertain  living  I  believe  it  to  be,  for  they  are  often  about 
telling  stories  to  the  faithful  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
pay  them  for  their  recitals.  One  is  always  with  them,  a 
woman  called  Rachel.  It  is  said  that  she  poisoned  a  rival 
at  a  wedding,  a  girl  called  Ruth  whom  Jesus  raised  from  the 
dead.  Ruth  went  to  her  husband,  but  Rachel  followed 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  .  .  .  Thou'rt  a  Galilean,  Paul  said,  and 
knowest  these  stories  better  than  I. 

As  they  walked  on  together,  Paul's  thoughts  returned  to 
the  miracle  of  his  apostleship,  received,  he  said,  by  me  from 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  himself  on  the  road  to  Damascus. 
Thy  brethren  have  doubtless  related  the  story  to  thee 
how  in  my  journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus,  full  of 
wrath  to  kill  and  to  punish  the  saints,  I  was  blinded  by 
a  great  light  from  the  skies,  and  out  of  a  cloud  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord  spoke  to  me :  Paul !  Paul !  he  cried,  why  perse- 
cutest  thou  me  ?  Ever  since  I  have  preached  that  there 
is  but  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man  —  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord,  and  if  I  ran  out  whilst  thou  wast  telling  thy  story, 


470  THE   BROOK  KERITH 

crying,  he  is  mad,  he  is  mad !  it  was  because  it  seemed  to 
me  that  thou  wert  speaking  by  order  of  the  Jews  who  would 
ensnare  and  entrap  me  or  for  some  other  reason.  None 
may  divine  men's  desire  of  soul,  unless  an  evil  spirit  has 
descended  into  thee  I  may  not  divine  any  reason  for  thy 
story.  There  is  some  mistake  that  none  would  regret 
more  than  thou,  for  thou  wouldst  hear  the  truth  from  me 
this  day,  thereby  gaining  everlasting  life.  Why  dost  thou 
not  answer  me,  Jesus  ?  Because  thou'rt  waiting  to  hear 
from  me  the  words  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  spoke  to  me  ? 
My  brethren  have  told  it  to  me,  Jesus  answered.  And 
thou  believest  it  not  ?  Paul  cried.  I  believe,  Jesus  answered, 
that  the  Jesus  that  spake  to  thee  out  of  a  cloud  never  lived 
in  the  flesh ;  he  was  a  Lord  Jesus  Christ  of  thy  own  imagin- 
ing, and  I  believe,  too,  that  if  we  had  met  in  Galilee  thou 
wouldst  not  have  heeded  me,  and  thou  wouldst  have  done 
well,  for  in  Galilee  I  was  but  a  seeker;  go  thou  and  seek  and 
be  not  always  satisfied  with  what  first  comes  to  thy  hand. 

These  words  provoked  a  great  rage  in  Paul,  and  believing 
Jesus  to  be  an  evil  spirit  come  to  tempt  him,  he  turned 
fiercely  upon  him,  threatening  him  with  his  staff,  bidding 
him  begone.  But  as  he  could  not  desert  Paul  in  the  wilder- 
ness Jesus  dropped  behind  him  and  directed  Paul's  journey, 
bidding  him  tread  here  and  not  there,  to  avoid  the  hill  in 
front  of  him,  and  to  keep  along  the  valley. 

In  this  way  they  proceeded  for  about  another  hour, 
and  then  Jesus  cried  out  to  Paul :  yonder  are  the  fig-trees 
where  the  shepherd  told  me  to  look  for  a  pool  among  the 
rocks  after  the  late  rains.  Art  overcome,  Paul,  with  the 
long  march  and  the  heat  ^  Rest.  Let  me  untie  thy  san- 
dals. Alas !  they  are  worn  through  and  will  scarce  carry 
thee  into  Bethennabrio.  But  they  must  carry  me  thither, 
Paul  answered,  and  if  there  be  water  in  the  pool  after  we 
have  drunken  and  filled  our  water-bottle  I'll  loose  the  thongs 
and  bathe  my  feet. 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  471 

The  season  was  advanced,  but  there  were  still  leaves 
on  the  fig-trees,  and  among  the  rocks  some  water  had  col- 
lected, and  having  drunk  and  filled  the  water-bottle,  Jesus 
loosed  the  thongs  of  Paul's  sandals  and  bound  them  with 
some  bandages  torn  from  his  own  clothing.  He  broke  the 
bread  that  the  passing  shepherd  had  given  him,  but  Paul 
could  eat  very  little,  so  overcome  was  he  with  fatigue.  I 
shall  try  to  eat  after  I  have  slept  a  little,  and  having  made 
his  head  comfortable  with  his  sheepskin,  Jesus  watched 
him  doze  away. 

Soon  after  the  warm  rocks  brought  sleep  to  Jesus'  eyes, 
and  he  fell  asleep  trying  to  remember  that  he  had  nothing 
more  explicit  to  rely  upon  than  his  own  declaration  (where 
should  it  be  made,  in  the  streets  to  the  people  or  in  the 
Sanhedrin  to  the  priests  .^)  that  he  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
whom  Pilate  condemned  to  the  cross,  only  his  own  words 
to  convince  the  priests  and  the  people  that  he  was  not 
a  shepherd  whom  the  loneliness  of  the  hills  had  robbed 
of  his  senses.  He  could  not  bring  the  Essenes  as  testimony, 
nor  could  they  if  they  came  vouch  for  the  whole  truth  of  his 
story. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

HAST  slept  well,  Paul,  and  hath  sleep  refreshed  thee  and 
given  thee  strength  to  pursue  thy  journey  ?  Paul  answered 
that  he  was  very  weary,  but  however  weary  must  struggle 
on  to  Caesarea.  Thy  strength  will  not  suffer  thee  to  get 
farther  than  Bethennabrio,  and  to  reach  Bethennabrio 
I  must  make  thy  sandals  comfortable,  Jesus  answered,  and 
on  these  words  he  knelt  and  succeeded  in  arranging  the 
thongs  so  that  Paul  walked  without  pain. 

They  walked  without  speaking,  Paul  afraid  lest  some 
chance  word  of  his  might  awaken  Jesus'  madness,  and 
Jesus  forgetful  of  Paul,  his  mind  now  set  on  Jerusalem, 
whither  he  was  going  as  soon  as  Paul  was  safely  out  of 
the  way  of  the  Jews.  Each  shut  himself  within  the  circle 
of  his  own  mind,  and  the  silence  was  not  broken  till  Paul 
began  to  fear  that  Jesus  was  plotting  against  him,  and  to 
distract  Jesus'  mind  from  his  plots,  if  he  were  weaving  any, 
he  ventured  to  compare  the  country  they  were  passing 
through  with  Galilee,  and  forthwith  Jesus  began  to  talk 
to  Paul  of  Peter  and  John  and  James,  sons  of  Zebedee, 
mentioning  their  appearances,  voices,  manner  of  speech, 
relating  their  boats,  their  fishing  tackle,  the  fish-salting  fac- 
tory at  Magdala,  Dan,  and  Joseph  his  son.  He  spoke 
volubly,  genially,  a  winning  relation  it  was  of  the  fishing 
life  round  the  lake,  without  mention  of  miracles,  for  it  was 
not  to  his  purpose  to  convince  Paul  of  any  spiritual  power 
he  may  have  enjoyed,  but  rather  of  his  own  simple  humanity. 
And  Paul  listened  to  all  his  narratives  complacently,  still 
believing  his  guide  to  be  a  madman.     If  thou  hadst  not 

47* 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  473 

run  away  crying,  he  is  mad,  he  is  mad  !  thou  wouldst  have 
heard  how  my  crucifixion  was  brought  about;   how  my  eyes 

opened  in  the  tomb  and Interrupting  Jesus,  Paul  hastened 

to  assure  him  that  if  he  cried  out,  he  is  mad,  he  is  mad, 
he  had  spoken  the  words  unwittingly,  they  were  put  into 
his  mouth  by  the  sickness  in  which  Jesus  had  discovered 
him.  And  the  sickness,  he  admitted,  might  have  been 
brought  about  by  the  shock  of  hearing  thee  speak  of  thyself 
as  the  Messiah.  But,  Paul,  I  did  not  speak  of  myself  as 
the  Messiah,  but  as  an  Essene  who  during  some  frenzied 
months  believed  himself  to  be  the  Messiah.  But,  shepherd, 
Paul  answered,  the  Messiah  promised  to  the  Jews  was 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  was  raised  by  his  Father  from  the 
dead,  and  thou  sayest  that  thou  art  the  same.  If  thou 
didst  once  believe  thyself  to  be  the  Messiah  thou  hast 
repented  thy  blasphemy.  Let  us  talk  no  more  about  the 
Messiah.  In  the  desert  these  twenty  years,  Jesus  answered. 
But  not  till  now  did  I  know  my  folly  had  borne  fruit.  Nor 
do  I  know  now  if  Joseph  knew  that  a  story  had  been  set 
going.  It  may  be  that  the  story  was  not  set  going  till  after 
his  death.  Now  it  seems  too  late  to  go  into  the  field  thou 
hast  sown  with  tares  instead  of  corn.  To  which  Paul 
answered :  it  is  my  knowledge  of  thy  seclusion  among 
rocks  that  prompts  me  to  listen  to  thee.  The  field  I  have 
sown  like  every  other  field  has  some  tares  in  it,  but  it  is 
full  of  corn  ripening  fast  which  will  be  ready  for  the  reap- 
ing when  it  shall  please  the  Lord  to  descend  with  his  own  son, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  from  the  skies.  As  soon  as  the  words 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  left  his  lips  Paul  regretted  them,  for 
he  did  not  doubt  that  he  was  speaking  to  a  madman  whose 
name,  no  doubt,  was  Jesus,  and  who  had  come  from  Nazareth, 
and  having  got  some  inkling  of  the  true  story  of  the  resur- 
rection had  little  by  little  conceived  himself  to  be  he  who  had 
died  that  all  might  be  saved ;  and  upon  a  sudden  resolve 
not  to  utter  another  word  that  might  offend  the  madman's 


474  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

beliefs,  he  began  to  tell  that  he  had  brought  hope  to  the 
beggar,  the  outcast,  to  the  slave;  though  this  world  was 
but  a  den  of  misery  to  them,  another  world  was  coming 
to  which  they  might  look  forward  in  full  surety ;  and  many, 
he  said,  that  led  vile  lives  are  now  God-fearing  men  and 
women  who,  when  the  daily  work  is  done,  go  forth  in  the 
evening  to  beseech  the  multitude  to  give  some  time  to 
God. 

In  every  field  there  are  tares,  but  there  are  fewer  in  my 
field  than  in  any  other,  and  that  I  hold  to  be  the  truth; 
and  seeing  that  Jesus  was  listening  to  his  story  he  began 
to  relate  his  theology,  perplexing  Jesus  with  his  doctrines, 
but  interesting  him  with  the  glad  tidings  that  the  burden 
of  the  Law  had  been  lifted  from  all.  If  he  had  stopped 
there  all  would  have  been  well,  so  it  seemed  to  Jesus,  whose 
present  mind  was  not  able  to  grasp  why  a  miracle  should 
be  necessary  to  prove  to  men  that  the  love  of  God  was  in 
the  heart  rather  than  in  observances,  and  the  miracle  that 
Paul  continued  to  relate  with  so  much  unction  seemed  to 
him  so  crude;  yet  he  once  believed  that  God  was  pleased 
to  send  his  only  begotten  son  to  redeem  the  world  by  his 
death  on  a  cross.  A  strange  conception  truly.  And  while 
he  was  thinking  these  things  Paul  fell  to  telling  his  dogma 
concerning  predestination,  and  he  was  anxious  that  Jesus 
should  digest  his  reply  to  Mathias,  who  had  said  that  pre- 
destination conflicted  with  the  doctrine  of  salvation  for  all. 
But  Jesus,  who  was  of  Mathias'  opinion,  refrained  from 
expressing  himself  definitely  on  the  point,  preferring  to 
forget  Paul,  so  that  he  might  better  consider  if  he  would 
be  able  to  make  plain  to  Paul  that  miracles  bring  no  real 
knowledge  of  God  to  man,  and  that  our  conscience  is  the 
source  of  our  knowledge  of  God  and  that  perhaps  a  provi- 
dence flourishes  beyond  the  world. 

Meanwhile  Paul  continued  his  discourse,  till,  becoming 
suddenly  aware  that  Jesus'  thoughts  were  far  away,  he 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  475 

stopped  speaking;  the  silence  awoke  Jesus  from  his  medita- 
tion, and  he  began  to  compare  Paul's  strenuous  and  rest- 
less life  with  his  own,  asking  himself  if  he  envied  this  rhan 
who  had  laboured  so  fiercely  and  meditated  so  little.  And 
Paul,  divining  in  a  measure  the  thoughts  that  were  passing 
in  Jesus'  mind,  began  to  speak  to  Jesus  of  our  life  in  the 
flesh  and  its  value.  For  is  it  not  true,  he  asked,  that  it 
is  in  our  fleshly  life  we  earn  our  immortal  life  ?  But,  Paul, 
Jesus  said,  it  seems  unworthy  to  love  virtue  to  gain  heaven. 
Is  it  not  better  to  love  virtue  for  its  own  sake  ?  I  have 
heard  that  question  many  times,  Paul  answered,  and  believe 
those  that  ask  it  to  be  of  little  faith ;  were  I  not  sure  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  died,  and  was  raised  by  his  Father 
from  the  dead,  I  should  turn  to  the  pleasures  of  this  world, 
though  there  is  but  little  taste  in  me  for  them,  only  that 
little  which  all  men  suffer,  and  I  have  begged  God  to  redeem 
me  from  it,  but  he  answered :   my  grace  suffices. 

A  great  pity  for  Paul  took  possession  of  Jesus,  and  seek- 
ing to  gain  him,  Jesus  spoke  of  the  Essenes  and  their  life, 
and  the  advantage  it  would  be  to  him  to  return  to  the  Brook 
Kerith.  Among  the  brethren  thou'lt  seek  and  find  thyself, 
and  every  man,  he  continued,  is  behoven  sooner  or  later  to 
seek  himself;  and  thyself,  Paul,  if  I  read  thee  rightly,  hath 
always  been  overlooked  by  thee,  which  is  a  fault.  So  thou 
thinkest,  Jesus,  that  I  have  always  overlooked  myself.? 
But  which  self?  For  there  have  been  many  selves  in  me. 
A  Pharisee  that  went  forth  from  Jerusalem  with  letters 
from  the  chief  priests  to  persecute  the  saints  in  Damascus. 
The  self  that  has  begun  to  wish  that  life  were  over  so  that 
I  may  be  brought  to  Christ,  never  to  be  separated  again 
from  him.  Or  the  self  that  lies  beyond  my  reason,  that  would 
hold  me  accursed  from  Christ,  if  thereby  I  might  bring  the 
whole  world  to  Christ  in  exchange :  which  self  of  those 
three  wouldst  thou  have  me  seek  and  discover  in  the  Brook 
Kerith  ?     He   waited    a   little   while   for  Jesus   to   answer. 


476  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

then  he  answered  his  own  question :  my  work  is  my  con- 
science made  manifest,  and  my  soul  is  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  that  was  crucified  and  raised  from  the  dead  by  his 
Father.     He  hves  in  me,  and  it  is  by  his  power  that  I  live. 

The  men  stopped  and  looked  into  each  other's  eyes, 
and  it  seemed  to  them  that  no  two  men  were  so  irreparably 
divided.  Thou  must  bear  with  me,  Paul,  Jesus  said,  a 
little  while  longer,  till  we  reach  a  certain  hillside,  distant 
about  an  hour's  journey  from  this  valley.  I  must  see  thee 
to  a  place  of  safety,  and  the  thoughts  in  my  mind  I  will 
consider  while  we  strive  up  these  sand-hills.  Now  if  thy 
sandals  hurt  thee  tell  me  and  I  will  arrange  the  thongs 
differently.  Paul  answered  that  they  were  easy  to  wear, 
and  they  toiled  up  the  dunes  in  silence,  Paul  thinking  how 
he  might  persuade  this  madman  to  return  to  his  cenoby 
and  leave  the  world  to  him. 

There  are  some,  he  said,  as  they  came  out  of  a  valley, 
that  think  the  time  is  long  deferred  before  the  Lord  will 
come.  Thou'rt  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  I  deny  it  not,  but  the 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  that  I  preach  is  of  the  spirit  and  not  of 
the  flesh,  and  it  was  the  spirit  and  not  the  flesh  that  was 
raised  from  the  dead.  Thy  doctrine  that  man's  own  soul 
is  his  whole  concern  is  well  enough  for  the  philosophers  of 
Egypt  and  Greece,  but  we  who  know  the  judgment  to  be 
near,  and  that  there  is  salvation  for  all,  must  hasten  with 
the  glad  tidings.  Wilt  tell  me,  Paul,  of  what  value  would 
thy  teaching  be  if  Jesus  did  not  die  on  the  cross  ?  Many 
times  and  in  many  places  I  have  said  my  teaching  would 
be  as  naught  if  our  Lord  Jesus  had  not  died,  Paul  answered. 
Are  not  my  hands  and  feet  testimony,  Paul,  that  I  speak 
the  truth  ?  Look  unto  them.  Pilate  put  many  beside 
thee  on  the  cross,  Paul  replied,  and,  as  I  have  told  thee, 
my  Christ  is  not  of  this  world.  If  he  be  not  of  this  world, 
is  he  God  or  angel  ?  Jesus  asked,  and  Paul  said :  neither, 
but  God's  own  son,  chosen  by  God  from  the  beginning  to 


THE  BROOK  KERITH  477 

redeem  the  world,  not  the  Jews  only,  but  all  men,  Gentiles 
and  Jews  alike.  Thou  hast  asked  me  to  look  into  thy  hands 
and  feet,  but  what  testimony  may  be* a  few  ancient  scars 
to  me  that  heard  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  speak  out  of  the 
clouds  ?  Thou  wast  not  in  the  cenoby  when  I  told  my 
story,  hoping  thereby  to  get  a  dozen  apostles  to  accompany 
me  to  Spain,  a  wide  and  difficult  country  I'm  told,  a  dozen 
would  not  be  too  many ;  but  thou  wast  not  there  to  hear 
what  befell  me  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  whither  I  was 
going  to  persecute  the  saints ;  and  again  a  great  pity  for 
Paul  took  possession  of  Jesus  as  he  listened  to  the  story. 
Were  I  to  persuade  him  that  there  was  no  miracle,  his  mind 
would  snap,  Jesus  said  to  himself,  and  he  figured  Paul 
wandering  demented  through  the  hills. 

And  when  Paul  came  to  the  end  of  his  story  he  seemed 
to  have  forgotten  the  man  walking  by  his  side.  He  is 
rapt,  Jesus  said  to  himself,  in  the  Jesus  of  his  imagination. 
And  when  they  had  walked  for  another  hour  Jesus  said : 
seest  the  ridge  of  hills  over  yonder  ?  There  we  shall  find 
the  village,  two  hours'  march  from  Caesarea.  The  sea 
rises  up  in  front  of  thee  and  a  long  meandering  road  will 
lead  thee  into  Caesarea.  At  yonder  ridge  of  hills  we  part. 
And  whither  goest  thou  ?  Paul  asked.  Returnest  thou 
to  the  Brook  Kerith  ?  I  know  not  whither  I  go,  but  a  great 
seeming  is  in  my  heart  that  it  will  not  be  to  the  Brook  Kerith 
but  to  Jerusalem.  To  Jerusalem  ?  Paul  repeated.  What 
persuasion  or  what  desire  would  bring  thee  to  that  accursed 
city  of  men  more  stubborn  than  all  others  ?  I  left  the 
Brook  Kerith,  Paul,  after  listening  to  Hazael  for  a  long  while ; 
he  sought  to  dissuade  me  against  Jerusalem,  but  I  resisted 
his  counsel,  saying  that  now  I  knew  thee  to  be  preaching 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  from  the  dead,  thereby 
leading  the  people  astray,  I  must  return  to  Jerusalem  to 
tell  the  priests  that  he  whom  they  believed  to  be  raised  from 
the  dead  still  lived  in  the  flesh.     However  mad  thou  beest. 


478  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

the  priests  will  welcome  thy  story  and  for  it  may  glorify 
thee  or  belike  put  thee  on  the  cross  again.  But  this  is  sure 
that  emissaries  will  be  sent  to  Italy  and  Spain,  who  will  turn 
the  people's  mind  from  the  truth ;  and  the  testimony  of 
the  twelve  that  saw  Jesus  and  of  the  five  hundred  that  saw 
him  afterwards  will  be  as  naught ;  and  the  Jews  will  scoiF 
at  me,  saying :  he  whom  thou  declarest  was  raised  from  the 
dead  lives ;  and  the  Gentiles  will  scoff  and  say :  we  will 
listen  to  thee,  Paul,  another  day ;  and  the  world  will  fall 
back  into  idolatry,  led  back  into  it  by  the  delusions  of  a 
madman.  The  word  of  God  is  a  weak  thing,  Paul,  Jesus 
answered,  if  it  cannot  withstand  and  overcome  the  delusions 
of  a  madman,  and  God  himself  a  derision,  for  he  will  have 
sent  his  son  to  die  on  the  cross  in  vain.  Of  the  value  of 
the  testimony  of  the  twelve  I  am  the  better  judge.  Then 
thou  goest  to  Jerusalem,  Paul  asked,  to  confute  me  ?  No, 
Paul,  I  shall  not  return  to  Jerusalem.  Because,  Paul  inter- 
rupted, thou  wouldst  not  see  the  world  fall  back  into  idolatry  ? 

Thou  art  a  good  man  despite Despite  my  delusions, 

Jesus  said,  interrupting  Paul.  So  thou'rt  afraid  the  world 
will  fall  back  into  idolatry  ?  —  yet  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has 
been  proclaimed  by  thee  as  the  Messiah,  a  man  above 
mankind.  A  spiritual  being,  higher  than  the  angels,  there- 
fore, in  a  way,  part  and  parcel  of  the  Godhead  though  not 
yet  equal  to  God.  Thinkest,  Paul,  that  those  that  come 
after  thee  will  not  pick  up  the  Messiah  where  thou  hast 
left  him  and  carry  him  still  further  into  deity  ? 

It  is  not  fear  of  idolatry,  Paul,  that  turns  me  from  Jeru- 
salem. The  world  will  always  be  idolatrous  in  some  sort 
of  fashion.  Bear  that  well  in  mind  whither  thou  goest. 
The  world  cannot  be  else  than  the  world. 

Let  us  sit  here,  Paul  answered,  for  I  would  hear  thee 
under  this  rock  in  front  of  this  sea;  thou  shalt  tell  me 
how  thou  camest  into  these  thoughts.  Thou,  a  shepherd 
among  the  Judean  hills.     Jesus  answered  him :    the  things 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  479 

that  I  taught  in  Galilee  were  not  vain,  but  I  only  knew 
part  of  the  truth,  that  which  thou  knowest,  that  sacrifices 
and  observances  are  vain ;  and  when  I  went  to  Jerusalem 
the  infamy  of  the  Temple  and  its  priests  became  clear 
to  me,  and  I  yielded  to  anger,  for  I  was  possessed  of  a  great 
desire  to  save  the  people.  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
conspired  against  me,  and  I  was  brought  before  the  High 
Priest,  who  rent  his  garments.  We  have  but  little  time 
to  spend  together,  and  rather  than  that  story  I  would  hear 
thee  tell  of  the  thoughts  that  came  to  thee  whilst  thou 
didst  lead  thy  flocks  over  the  hills. 

For  many  years,  Paul,  there  were  no  thoughts  in  my 
mind,  or  they  were  kept  back,  for  I  was  without  a  belief; 
but  thought  returned  to  my  desolate  mind  as  the  spring 
returns  to  these  hills ;  and  the  next  step  in  my  advance- 
ment was  when  I  began  to  understand  that  we  may  not 
think  of,  God  as  a  man  who  would  punish  men  for  doing 
things  they  have  never  promised  not  to  do,  or  recompense 
them  for  abstinence  from  things  they  never  promised  to 
abstain  from.  Soon  after  I  began  to  comprehend  that 
the  beliefs  of  our  forefathers  must  be  abandoned,  and  that 
if  we  would  arrive  at  any  reasonable  conception  of  God, 
we  must  not  put  a  stint  upon  him.  And  as  I  wandered 
with  my  sheep  he  became  in  my  senses  not  without  but 
within  the  universe,  part  and  parcel,  not  only  of  the  stars 
and  the  earth,  but  of  me,  yea,  even  of  my  sheep  on  the  hill- 
side. All  things  are  God,  Paul :  thou  art  God  and  I  am  God, 
but  if  I  were  to  say  thou  art  man  and  I  am  God,  I  should 
be  the  madman  that  thou  believest  me  to  be.  That  was 
the  second  step  in  my  advancement ;  and  the  third  step, 
Paul,  in  my  advancement  was  the  knowledge  that  God  did 
not  design  us  to  know  him  but  through  our  consciousness  of 
good  and  evil,  only  thus  far  may  we  know  him.  So  thou 
seest,  Paul,  he  has  not  written  the  utmost  stint  of  his  power 
upon  us,  and  this  being  so,  Paul  —  and  who  shall  say  that 


48o  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

it  is  not  so  —  it  came  to  me  to  understand  that  all  striving 
was  vain,  and  worse  than  vain.  The  pursuit  of  an  incor- 
ruptible crown  leads  us  to  sin  as  much  as  the  pursuit  of 
a  corruptible  crown.  If  we  would  reach  the  sinless  state,  we 
must  relinquish  pursuit.  What  I  mean  is  this,  that  he  who 
seeks  the  incorruptible  crown  starts  out  with  words  of 
love  on  his  lips  to  persuade  men  to  love  God,  and  finding 
that  men  do  not  heed  him  he  begins  to  hate  them,  and 
hate  leads  on  into  persecution.  Such  is  the  end  of  all  wor- 
ship. There  is  but  one  thing,  Paul,  to  learn  to  live  for  our- 
selves, and  to  suffer  our  fellows  to  do  likewise ;  all  learning 
comes  out  of  ourselves,  and  no  one  may  communicate  his 
thought;  for  his  thought  was  given  to  him  for  himself 
alone.  Thou  art  where  I  was  once,  thou  hast  learnt  that 
sacrifices  and  observances  are  vain,  that  God  is  in  our  heart; 
and  it  may  be  that  in  years  to  come  thy  knowledge  will  be 
extended,  or  it  may  be  that  thou  hast  reached  the  end  of  thy 
tether :  we  are  all  at  tether,  Paul. 

Wouldst  thou  have  me  learn,  Jesus,  that  God  is  to  be 
put  aside  ?  Again,  Paul,  thou  showest  me  the  vanity  of 
words.  God  forbid  that  I  should  say  banish  God  from  thy 
heart.  God  cannot  be  banished,  for  God  is  in  us.  All 
things  proceed  from  God ;  all  things  end  in  God ;  God 
like  all  the  rest  is  a  possession  of  the  mind.  He  who  would 
be  clean  must  be  obedient  to  God.  God  has  not  designed 
us  to  know  him  except  through  our  conscience.  Each 
man's  conscience  is  a  glimpse.  These  are  some  of  the 
things  that  I  have  learnt,  Paul,  in  the  wilderness  during  the 
last  twenty  years.  But  seek  not  to  Understand  me.  Thou 
canst  not  understand  me  and  be  thyself;  but,  Paul,  I  can 
comprehend  thee,  for  once  I  was  thou.  Whither  goest 
thou  ?  Paul  cried,  looking  back.  But  Jesus  made  no  answer, 
and  Paul,  with  a  flutter  of  exaltation  in  his  heart,  turned 
towards  Caesarea,  knowing  now  for  certain  that  Jesus  would 
not  go  to  Jerusalem  to  provoke  the  Jews  against  him.     Italy 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  481 

would  therefore  hear  of  the  Hfe  and  death  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  that  had  brought  salvation  for  all,  and  Spain  after- 
wards. Spain,  Spain,  Spain !  he  repeated  as  he  walked, 
filled  with  visions  of  salvation.  He  walked  with  Spain 
vaguely  in  his  mind  till  his  reverie  was  broken  by  the  sound 
of  voices,  and  he  saw  people  suddenly  in  a  strange  garb 
going  towards  the  hillside  on  which  he  had  left  Jesus ;  neither 
Jews  nor  Greeks  were  they,  and  on  turning  to  a  shepherd 
standing  by  he  heard  that  the  strangely  garbed  people  were 
monks  from  India,  and  they  are  telling  the  people,  the  shep- 
herd said,  that  they  must  not  believe  that  they  have  souls, 
and  that  they  know  that  they  are  saved.  What  can  be 
saved  but  the  spirit  ?  Paul  cried,  and  he  asked  the  shepherd 
how  far  he  was  from  the  village  of  Bethennabrio.  Not 
more  than  half-an-hour,  the  shepherd  answered,  and  it  was 
upon  coming  into  sight  of  the  village  that  Paul  began  to 
trace  a  likeness  between  the  doctrines  that  Jesus  had  con- 
fided to  him  and  the  shepherd's  story  of  the  doctrines  that 
were  being  preached  by  the  monks  from  India.  His  thoughts 
were  interrupted  by  the  necessity  of  asking  the  first  passenger 
coming  from  the  village  to  direct  him  to  the  inn,  and  it 
was  good  tidings  to  hear  that  there  was  one. 

However  meagre  the  food  might  be,  it  would  be  enough, 
he  answered,  and  while  he  sat  at  supper  he  remembered 
Jesus  again,  and  while  thinking  of  his  doctrines  and  the 
likeness  they  bore  to  those  the  Indians  were  preaching, 
some  words  of  Jesus  returned  to  him.  He  had  said  that 
he  did  not  think  he  was  going  back  to  the  Brook  Kerith, 
and  it  may  well  be,  Paul  muttered,  that  in  saying  those 
words  he  was  a  prophet  without  knowing  it.  The  monks 
from  India  will  meet  him  in  the  valley,  and  if  they  speak  to 
him  they  will  soon  gather  from  him  that  he  divined  much 
of  their  philosophy  while  watching  his  flock,  and  finding 
him  to  be  of  their  mind  they  may  ask  him  to  return  to  India 
with  them  and  he  will  preach  there. 
21 


482  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

Sleep  began  to  gather  in  Paul's  eyes  and  he  was  soon 
dozing,  thinking  in  his  doze  how  pleasant  it  was  to  lie  in 
a  room  with  no  bats  above  him.  A  remembrance  of  the 
smell  kept  him  awake,  but  his  fatigue  was  so  great  that 
his  sleep  grew  deeper  and  deeper  and  many  hours  passed 
over,  and  the  people  in  the  inn  thought  that  Paul  would 
never  wake  again.  But  this  long  sleep  did  not  redeem 
him  from  the  fatigue  of  his  journeys.  He  could  not  set 
out  again  till  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  it  was  evening  when 
he  passed  over  the  last  ridge  of  hills  and  saw  the  yellow 
sands  of  Caesarea  before  him.  The  sky  was  grey,  and  the 
rain  that  Jesus  had  foreseen  was  beginning  to  fall,  and 
it  was  through  shades  of  evening  that  he  saw  the  great 
mole  covered  with  buildings  stretching  far  into  the  sea. 
Timothy  will  be  waiting  for  me  at  the  gate  if  he  has  not 
fallen  over  a  precipice,  he  said,  and  a  few  minutes  after  he 
caught  sight  of  Timothy  waiting  for  him.  Paul  opened  his 
arms  to  him.  Thoughtest  that  I  was  lost  to  thee  for  ever, 
Timothy  ?  God  whispered  in  my  ears,  Timothy  answered, 
that  he  would  bring  thee  back  safely,  and  the  ship  is  already 
in  the  offing.  It  would  be  well  to  go  on  board  now,  for  at 
daybreak  we  weigh  anchor.  Thou'lt  sleep  better  on  board. 
And  Paul,  who  was  too  weary  even  to  answer,  allowed  him- 
self to  be  led.  And,  too  weary  to  sleep,  he  lay  waking  often 
out  of  shallow  sleeps.  He  could  hear  Timothy  breathing 
by  his  side,  and  when  he  raised  his  eyes  he  saw  the  stars 
that  were  to  guide  them  along  the  coasts ;  but  the  beauty 
of  the  stars  could  not  blot  out  of  his  mind  the  shepherd's 
face :  and  Paul's  thoughts  murmured,  he  who  believed  him- 
self the  Messiah  and  still  thinks  he  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
which  was  raised  by  his  Father  from  the  dead.  Yet  with- 
out his  help  I  should  not  have  reached  Caesarea.  It  then 
seemed  to  Paul  that  the  shepherd  was  an  angel  in  disguise 
sent  to  his  aid,  or  a  madman.  A  madman  with  a  strange 
light  in  his  eyes,  he  continued,  and  fell  to  thinking  if  the 


THE   BROOK  KERITH  483 

voice  that  spoke  out  of  the  cloud  bore  any  likeness  to  the 
voice  that  had  compelled  his  attention  for  so  long  a  term  on 
the  hillside.  But  a  bodily  voice,  he  said,  cannot  resemble 
a  spiritual  voice,  and  it  is  enough  that  the  Lord  Jesus  spoke 
to  me,  and  that  his  voice  has  abided  in  me  and  become  my 
voice.  It  is  his  voice  that  is  now  calling  me  to  Rome,  and 
it  is  his  voice  that  I  shall  hear  when  my  life  is  over,  saying: 
Paul,  I  have  long  waited  for  thee ;  come  unto  me,  faithful 
servant,  and  receive  in  me  thy  gain  and  the  fruit  of  all  thy 
labour.  He  repeated  the  words  so  loudly  that  Timothy 
awoke,  and  at  the  sight  of  the  young  man's  face  the  present 
sank  out  of  sight  and  he  was  again  in  Lystra,  and  on  look- 
ing into  the  young  man's  eyes  he  knew  that  Timothy  would 
remind  him  always  of  the  woman  in  Lystra  whom  he  would 
never  see  again.  Of  what  art  thou  thinking,  Paul  ?  The 
voice  seemed  to  come  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  but  it 
came  from  Timothy's  lips.  Of  Lystra,  Timothy,  that  we 
shall  never  see  again  nor  any  of  the  people  we  have  ever 
known.  We  are  leaving  our  country  and  our  kindred.  But 
remember,  Timothy,  that  it  is  God  that  calls  thee  Rome- 
ward.  And  they  sat  talking  in  the  soft  starlight  of  what 
had  befallen  them  when  they  separated  in  the  darkness. 
Timothy  told  that  he  remembered  the  way  he  had  come  by 
sufficiently  not  to  fall  far  out  of  it,  and  that  at  daybreak  he 
had  met  shepherds  who  had  directed  him.  He  had  walked 
and  he  had  rested  and  in  that  way  managed  to  reach  Caesarea 
the  following  evening.  A  long  journey  on  foot,  but  a  poor 
adventure.  But  thou  hast  been  away  three  days,  three 
days  and  three  nights.  .  .  .  How  earnest  thou  hither  ? 
Thy  eyes  are  full  of  story.  A  fair  adventure,  Timothy, 
and  he  related  his  visit  to  the  Essenes  and  their  dwelling 
among  the  cliffs  above  the  Brook  Kerith.  A  fair  adventure 
truly,  Timothy.  Would  I'd  been  with  thee  to  have  seen 
and  heard  them.  Would  indeed  that  we  had  not  been 
separated He  was  about  to  tell  the  shepherd's  story 


484  THE  BROOK  KERITH 

but  was  stopped  by  some  power  within  himself.  But  how 
didst  thou  come  hither?  Timothy  asked  again,  and  Paul 
answered,  the  Essenes  sent  their  shepherd  with  me.  Timo- 
thy begged  Paul  to  tell  him  more  about  the  Essenes,  but 
the  sailors  begged  them  to  cease  talking,  and  next  day  the 
ship  touched  at  Sidon,  and  Julius,  in  whose  charge  Paul  had 
been  placed,  gave  him  the  liberty  to  go  unto  his  friends  and 
to  refresh  himself. 

The  sea  of  Cilicia  was  beautifully  calm,  and  they  sailed 
on,  hearing  all  the  sailors,  .who  were  Greek,  telling  their 
country's  legends  of  the  wars  of  Troy,  and  of  Venus  whose 
great  temple  was  in  Cyprus.  After  passing  Cyprus  they 
came  to  Myra,  a  city  of  Cilicia,  and  were  fortunate  enough 
to  find  a  ship  there  bound  for  Alexandria,  sailing  from 
thence  to  Italy.  Julius  put  them  all  on  board  it;  but  the 
wind  was  unfavourable,  and  as  soon  as  they  came  within 
sight  of  Cnidus  the  wind  blew  against  them  and  they  sailed 
to  Crete  and  by  Salome  till  they  came  to  a  coast  known 
as  the  Fair  Havens  by  the  city  of  Lasea,  where  much  time 
was  spent  to  the  great  danger  of  the  ship,  and  also  to  the 
lives  of  the  passengers  and  the  crew  as  Paul  fully  warned 
them,  the  season,  he  said,  being  too  advanced  for  them  to 
expect  fair  sailings.  I  have  fared  much  by  land  and  sea, 
he  said,  and  know  the  danger  and  perils  of  this  season.  He 
was  not  listened  to,  but  the  Haven  being  not  safe  in  winter 
they  loosed  for  Phoenice;  and  the  wind  blew  softly,  and 
they  mocked  Paul,  but  not  long,  for  a  dangerous  wind  arose, 
known  as  euroclydon,  against  which  the  ship  could  not 
bear  up,  and  so  the  crew  let  her  drive  before  it  till  in  great 
fear  of  quicksands  they  unloaded  the  ship  of  some  cargo. 
And  next  day,  the  wind  rising  still  higher,  they  threw  over- 
board all  they  could  lay  hands  upon,  and  for  several  days 
and  nights  the  wrack  was  so  thick  and  black  overhead  that 
they  were  driven  on  and  on  through  unknown  wastes  of 
water,  Paul  exhorting  all  to  be  of  good  cheer,  for  an  angel 


THE   BROOK   KERITH  485 

of  God  had  exhorted  him  that  night,  telling  that  none  should 
drown. 

And  when  the  fourteenth  day  was  spent  it  seemed  to 
the  sailors  that  they  were  close  upon  land.  Upon  sound- 
ing they  found  fifteen  fathoms,  and  afraid  they  were  upon 
rocks,  they  cast  out  anchors.  But  the  anchors  did  not 
hold,  and  the  danger  of  drowning  became  so  great  as  the 
night  advanced  that  the  sailors  would  have  launched  a 
boat,  but  Paul  besought  them  to  remain  upon  the  ship; 
and  when  it  was  day  they  discovered  a  certain  creek  in 
which  they  thought  they  might  beach  the  ship,  which  they 
did,  and  none  too  soon,  for  the  ship  began  to  break  to  pieces 
soon  after.  But  shall  our  prisoners  be  supposed  to  swim 
ashore  ?  the  soldiers  asked,  and  they  would  have  killed  the 
prisoners,  but  the  centurion  restrained  them,  for  he  was 
minded  to  save  Paul's  life,  and  all  reached  the  shore  either 
by  swimming  or  clinging  to  wreckage  which  the  waves  cast 
up  upon  the  shore. 

They  were  then  upon  the  island  of  Melita,  where  Paul 
was  mistaken  for  a  murderer  because  a  viper  springing 
out  of  a  bundle  of  sticks  fastened  on  his  hand.  But  he 
shook  off  the  beast  into  the  fire  and  felt  no  harm,  and  the 
barbarians  waited  for  him  to  swell  and  fall  down  suddenly, 
but  when  he  showed  no  sign  of  sickness  they  mistook  him 
for  a  god,  and  in  fear  that  they  would  offer  sacrifices  in  his 
honour,  as  the  priests  of  Lystra  wished  to  do  when  he  bade 
the  cripple  stand  straight  upon  his  feet,  he  told  them  that 
he  was  a  man  like  themselves ;  he  consented,  however,  that 
they  should  bring  him  to  Publius,  the  chief  man  of  the 
island,  who  lay  sick  with  fever  and  a  flux  of  blood,  and  he 
rose  up  healed  as  soon  as  Paul  imposed  his  hand  upon  him. 
And  many  other  people  coming,  all  of  whom  were  healed, 
the  barbarians  brought  him  presents. 

After  three  months'  stay  they  went  on  board  a  ship  from 
Alexandria,  whose  sign  was  Castor  and  Pollux,  and  a  fair 


486  THE   BROOK   KERITH 

wind  took  them  to  Syracuse,  where  they  tarried  three 
days;  a  south  wind  arose  at  Rhegium  and  carried  them 
next  into  PuteoH,  where  Paul  found  the  brethren,  who  begged 
the  centurion  JuHus  to  allow  him  to  remain  with  them  for 
a  few  days,  and  on  account  of  his  great  friendship  and  admi- 
ration of  Paul  he  allowed  him  to  tarry  for  seven  days. 

From  Puteoli  Paul  and  Timothy  and  Aristarchus  went 
forward  towards  Rome  with  the  centurion,  and  the  news 
of  their  journey  having  preceded  them  the  brethren  came 
to  meet  them  as  far  as  The  Three  Taverns.  .  .  .  With 
great  rejoicing  they  all  went  on  to  Rome  together,  and 
when  they  arrived  in  Rome  the  centurion  delivered  the 
prisoners  to  the  captain  of  the  guard,  but  Paul  was  per- 
mitted to  live  by  himself  with  a  soldier  on  guard  over  him, 
and  he  enjoyed  the  right  to  see  whom  he  pleased  and  to 
teach  his  doctrine,  which  he  did,  calling  as  soon  as  he  was 
rested  the  chiefs  of  the  Jews  together,  and  when  they  were 
come  together  he  related  to  them  the  story  of  the  perse- 
cutions he  had  endured  from  the  Jews  from  the  beginning, 
and  that  he  had  appealed  to  Caesar  in  order  to  escape  from 
them.  He  expounded  and  testified  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
persuading  them  on  all  matters  concerning  Jesus,  his  birth, 
his  death,  and  his  resurrection,  enjoining  them  to  look  into 
the  Scriptures  and  to  accept  the  testification  of  five  hundred, 
many  of  whom  were  still  alive,  while  some  were  sleeping. 
He  spoke  from  morning  to  evening. 

The  rest  of  his  story  is  unknown. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


T 


HE  following  pages  contain   advertisements  of 
a  few  of  the  new  Macmillan  novels. 


NEW  MACMILLAN  NOVELS 

The  Prisoner 

By  ALICE   BROWN 

Author  of  "  My  Love  and  I,"  "  Children  of  Earth,"  etc. 

Alice  Brown's  latest  novel  is  her  most  ambitious,  and 
the  most  important  of  her  contributions  to  literature. 
"The  Prisoner"  is  a  man  released  from  a  term  of  penal 
servitude,  returned  to  the  world,  to  his  father,  wife,  and 
sisters.  His  relations  with  them,  as  well  as  theirs  to  each 
other,  are  subjects  to  which  the  author  devotes  her  keen 
insight,  her  ability  to  analyze  mental  states  and  to  present 
to  her  readers  subtle  complexities  of  thought  and  of  mo- 
tive. She  writes  with  a  charm  of  manner  quite  her  own, 
easily  and  clearly,  with  a  wealth  of  atmosphere  and  an 
absorbing  interest  of  plot  that  carry  the  reader  through  to 
the  end  of  the  book. 

"  There  is  no  other  American  novelist  doing  better  work 
these  days  than  is  Alice  Brown."  —  The  Pittsburgh  Post. 

"  One  may  always  depend  upon  Alice  Brown  for  sincere, 
sound  work."  —  TJie  Outlook. 

"  As  a  writer  of  delicately  turned  stories  Alice  Brown 
has  few  equals."  —  The  Bellman. 

"  Alice  Brown  has  forged  ahead  until  now  she  stands 
with  the  best  and  greatest.  She  is  very  daring ;  she  defies 
all  prejudices,  but  she  is  simply  delightful." 

—  TJie  Chicago  Post. 


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MAY  SINCLAIR'S  NEW  NOVEL 

The  Belfry 

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"A  perfect,  composite  picture  of  real  human  beings 
amid  the  stress  of  present-day  events  and  emotions.  .  .  . 
Rich  in  its  portrayal  of  the  effects  of  temperament  upon 
temperament  ...  a  story  of  events  as  they  are  measured 
by  and  sway  the  minds  of  men  and  women,  ...  A  fasci- 
natingly interesting  story.  Better  in  scheme  and  motive  and 
characterisation  even  than  '  The  Combined  Maze.'  Touches 
the  heights  of  Miss  Sinclair's  skill,  and  indicates  in  her  still 
higher  powers."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

"At  once  refreshing  and  unusual.  Will  appreciably 
strengthen  the  author's  reputation.  .  .  .  Few  living  writers 
are  endowed  with  such  gifts  of  humanization  and  character 
portrayal."  —  Chicago  Herald. 

"  A  most  readable  new  novel.  .  .  .  An  exceptionally 
able  and  interesting  study.  Miss  Sinclair  handles  a  host  of 
characters  with  unerring  grasp  .  .  .  vivid,  unceasingly 
readable,  another  notable  achievement  of  its  distinguished 
author."  —  New  York  Tribune. 

"  Most  interesting  and  readable  .  .  .  recalls  Miss  Sin- 
clair's memorable  first  success.  ...  In  '  The  Belfry '  the 
story  is  the  thing,  from  the  first  page  to  the  last.  It  fulfills 
our  idea  of  a  really  successful  novel  —  a  story  so  interest- 
ing in  itself  that  everybody  likes  it,  and  so  well  done  that 
nobody  can  find  fault."  — New  York  Globe. 

"An  astute  study  of  femine  psychology  and  the  artist 
type."  —  Boston  Herald. 


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The  Rudder 

By  MARY  S.  WATTS 


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"  A  new  novel  by  Mrs.  Watts  is  always  the  event  of  the 
month  in  which  it  appears.  She  has  won  a  secure  place  in 
the  minds  of  serious  students  of  the  progress  of  American 
fiction  because  she  always  has  something  to  say  that  is 
worth  knowing  and  weighing."  —  New  York  Tribime. 

"  It  is  as  bright  a  book  as  can  be  imagined ;  the  people 
are  not  merely  lifelike,  they  are  like  photographs  of  those 
we  know.  It  is  a  page  of  real  American  life  that  Mrs. 
Watts  has  torn  off  for  us,  a  page  that  is  thoroughly  enter- 
taining and  admirably  written."  — JVetv  York  Sun. 

"  A  worthy  successor  to  her  earlier  books,  '  Nathan 
Burke'  and  'Van  Cleve,'  is  her  new  novel,  'The  Rudder.' 
The  book  is  a  solid  piece  of  good  workmanship." — Phil- 
adelphia Evening  Telegram. 

"  It  disports  an  excellent  company,  touches  tense  and 
impelling  issues.  Vividly  conceived  and  well  executed. 
Convincing,  appealing,  artistically  fluid,  dispassionate  yet 
tender,  it  abounds  in  dry  humour  and  dramatic  situations 
most  quietly  handled,  it  is,  to  bestow  highest  commenda- 
tion, amazingly  lifelike.  Here  is  a  book  that  must  be  read 
to  be  properly  appreciated." —  Chicago  Herald. 


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Those  About  Trench 


By  EDWIN  HERBERT  LEWIS 

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This  is  the  story  of  Dr.  Isham  Trench,  pediatrician,  of 
Halsted  Street,  Chicago  —  of  the  girl  he  loved,  and  of  his 
friends,  above  all  the  oddly-assorted  young  students, 
queer  Americans  and  queerer  Orientals,  whom  he  gath- 
ered about  him.  It  is  a  novel  of  ideas,  saturated  with  the 
spirit  of  modem  science,  intensely  alive  all  the  time ;  and 
it  has  also  a  plot  packed  with  strange  adventure,  which 
takes  the  reader  from  Halsted  Street  to  Peshawar,  India, 
through  Afghanistan  and  Bokhara  to  Tashkent,  across 
Austria  into  the  mountains  of  Servia,  and  very  close  to 
one  of  the  secrets  of  the  great  war.  Two  characters 
stand  out  prominently  as  among  the  most  vivid  portrayals 
in  recent  fiction :  Dr.  Trench  himself,  the  man  of  science, 
sick  of  life  yet  devoting  all  his  genius  to  saving  the  lives 
of  babies ;  and  his  mysterious  student,  Saadi  Sereef ,  bril- 
liant, impudent,  cynical,  a  self-confessed  immoralist,  who 
yet  gives  himself  wholly  to  a  great  idea  —  and  nearly 
achieves  it. 

Mr.  Lewis  is  a  writer  to  be  reckoned  with  hereafter  in 
American  fiction. 


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The  Abyss 

By  NATHAN  KUSSY 

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With  the  publication  of  this  book  a  new  Jewish  novelist 
is  introduced,  one  whose  work  is  of  such  outstanding  char- 
acter that  his  place  in  American  literature  is  henceforth 
assured.  "The  Abyss,"  which  bears  more  than  one  re- 
semblance as  regards  subject  matter  to  "  Oliver  Twist " 
and  "  Les  Miserables,"  tells  of  the  life  of  a  Jewish  lad  in 
the  underworld.  The  story  of  his  association  with  beg- 
gars, criminals,  and  the  outcasts  of  society  and  of  his 
never  ceasing  struggles  to  escape  from  the  muck  of  his 
environment  is  revealed  with  almost  photographic  accu- 
racy and  vividness.  The  volume  is  remarkable  for  its 
portrayal  of  types,  for  the  unfailing  interest  of  the  many 
incidents  of  its  plot,  and  for  the  amazing  revelations  of 
conditions  surrounding  the  daily  existence  of  certain 
classes  of  men  and  women. 


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Cam  Clarke 

By  JOHN  H.  WALSH 

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A  boy  is  the  hero  of  this  book  —  a  live  boy,  good,  bad 
and  indifferent  at  times,  but  always  real  and  likable.  The 
story  of  his  youth,  of  his  escapades,  of  his  "growing  up" 
days  in  the  Palouse  country,  of  his  comrades,  particularly 
his  boon  companion,  "  Mart  Campin,"  is  full  of  humor,  the 
humor  of  Mark  Twain  in  "  Tom  Sawyer,"  of  William 
Allen  White  in  his  Boyville  stories.  The  heartiness  of  the 
West,  good  spirits,  a  brisk  movement  of  plot,  and  a  score 
of  interesting  and  appealing  people,  these  are  all  here. 


The  Litde  Lady  of  the  Big  House 

By  jack  LONDON 

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In  this  story  of  a  woman  whose  life  is  shaped  by  a  great 
love,  Mr.  London  adds  at  least  three  characters  to  his 
already  notable  list  of  literary  portraits  —  Dick  Forrest, 
master  of  broad  acres,  a  man  of  intellect,  training,  and 
wealth ;  Paula,  his  wife,  young,  attractive,  bound  up  in  her 
husband  and  his  affairs ;  and  Evan  Graham,  traveled,  of 
easy  manners  and  ingratiating  personality,  a  sort  of  Prince 
Charming.  The  problem  comes  with  Graham's  entrance 
into  the  Forrest  family  circle  and  it  is  a  problem  that  must 
be  solved. 


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The  Shepherd  of  the  North 

By  RICHARD  AUMERLE  MAHER 

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A  big-brained,  big-hearted  American  Bishop  is  the  hero 
of  this  book.  In  the  story  of  his  daily  ministrations  among 
the  people  of  the  Adirondack  country  and  particularly  of 
the  part  that  he  plays  in  the  fight  that  is  waged  against  an 
encroaching  railroad,  the  author  has  a  theme  which  reveals 
a  beautiful  character  and  is  at  the  same  time  intensely  dra- 
matic. The  climax  of  it  all  is  reached  with  a  forest  fire, 
which  is  described  in  passages  of  power  and  vividness. 
Incidentally  there  is  introduced  into  the  plot  a  matter  of 
honor  which  serves  to  increase  the  suspense  and  in  the 
solution  of  which  the  novelist  exhibits  not  a  little  ingenuity. 


God^s  Puppets 


By  WILLIAM  ALLEN  WHITE 

Author  of  "  A  Certain  Rich  Man." 

Decorated  cloth,  i2mo,  $i.2j 

Here  are  brought  together  a  number  of  the  more  notable 
short  stories  by  one  whose  reputation  in  this  field  is  as  great 
as  in  the  novel  form  —  for  has  Mr.  White  not  delighted 
thousands  of  readers  with  The  Co?irt  of  Boyville  and  In  Our 
Town,  short  intimate  studies  of  life  at  first  hand  which, 
while  quite  different  from  the  material  in  the  new  volume, 
nevertheless  show  mastery  of  the  art  1  Mr.  White  is  a 
slow  and  careful  writer,  a  fact  to  which  the  long  intervals 
between  his  books  bear  witness,  but  each  work  has  proved 
itself  worth  waiting  for,  and  God's  Puppets  will  be  found 
no  exception.     It  gives  us  of  the  best  of  his  creative  genius. 


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